Pan's Labyrinth - A twisted and lovely tale

The year is 1944, Spain is fighting a civil war. Ofelia and her mother Carmen travel to a military outpost, where General Vidal awaits his new wife. Carmen is bearing his son, and he believes that "a son should be born where his father is." Ofelia does not like the camp or Vidal, preferring her world of fairy tales. Pan's Labyrinth is so called for the ancient, overgrown maze that lies a short walk from the camp. There Ofelia meets an aged faun, who tells her that she is the reincarnation of the Princess of the Underworld. The original princess dreamed of the human world, one day, she escaped Underworld to live as a mortal in the human realm. When she saw the sun, it erased the princess's memory and she forgot her identity. To prove that Ofelia is indeed the princess, the faun gives her a blank book that will show her three tasks she must perform before the moon is full. The movie's genius is that the director, Guillermo del Toro, is directing two separate story-lines simultaneously. One being the fanciful and visually stirring fantasy into which Ofelia is invited. The other, a polished war story about the cruel Vidal who is fond of only two kinds of rebels -torture to those alive and headshots to those who are dying. An example of his behavior is exemplified by his treatment of a father and son who were halted by Vidal's men late at night. As he searches their bag, they protest that they were rabbit hunting. Vidal grows annoyed my the son's repeated protest, and bashes the young man's nose into his face with a bottle before shooting the father as well. A few seconds later, Videl pulls a rabbit out from the bag, showing the audience that the victims were unjustly detained. The only person whom Vidal actually cares for other than himself is his unborn son. This stems from Vidal's own love for his military father. When Vidal's father died, he smashed his pocketwatch on a rock so that Videl might know the exact hour of his death. Throughout the film, Vidal takes out his father's watch and looks at its cracked face. It is ironic that Mercedes, Vidal's housekeeper, is aiding the rebels behind her employer's back. Mercedes's brother. Pedro, is a rebel leader and she supplies food and medicine. Mercedes and Ofelia develop a friendship instinctively. The housekeeper pities Ofelia and acts as her second mother, Ofelia wants a friend who will comfort her, her mother is weakened by her pregnancy. The colors and images in the movie are enchanting and sharply detailed. Director del Toro makes frequent use of dark greens, a hue that I personally favor, thus influencing me to like him as well. The fantasy realm is pictured as being a competent rival to the everyday existence in which the other characters live. This is one of the better movies I've seen this year. I can't wait for del Toro to finish the Hobbit, as now I am convinced that it will be a treat for the eyes as well as faithful to the story.