Guillermo del Toro is one of the best filmmakers of his generation, and he’ll probably go down as the only Best Director winner at the Oscars to take home that award and Best Picture for a love story between a woman and an amphibious male. That movie was The Shape of Water, in case you were wondering. Del Toro loves making fantasy and horror movies, and he’s made several, including Hellboy, Crimson Peak, and even Blade II. But the one Amazon Prime Video movie that you have to watch in November is del Toro’s most personal work to date, Pan’s Labyrinth.
Del Toro wrote and developed Pan’s Labyrinth over a period of years before the film hit theaters in 2006. It’s a movie set during the Spanish Civil War that mixes in elements of dark fantasy. It had a lower budget — $14 million — than the most recent Hellboy movie, but it feels more alive and bursting with imagination. Despite the subtitles throughout the movie, fans in America and around the world embraced Pan’s Labyrinth and carried it to a box office take of $83 million worldwide. Nearly two decades later, a new generation has a chance to discover the movie on Prime Video. That’s why we’re sharing the reasons Pan’s Labyrinth should be at the top of your Prime Video playlist.
It’s del Toro’s passion project
Del Toro developed Pan’s Labyrinth over the course of two decades and personally designed the creatures in notebooks that he carried around the world. His vivid sense of imagination paid off in the finished film, with visually arresting and inventive creatures, including the Faun and the hideous Pale Man, both of whom were portrayed by Star Trek: Discovery‘s Doug Jones.
The film has remained such an important project to del Toro that he co-wrote a novelization for Pan’s Labyrinth that was released in 2019 and added even more insight into the world he created. At one point, del Toro even had a sequel in mind, but the film is more impactful as a standalone story.
The actors deliver powerful performances
Ivana Baquero was 11-years old when she played the film’s main character, Ofelia, a young girl who feels adrift when her pregnant mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil), marries a monster of a man, Captain Vidal (Sergi López). One of the strengths of this movie is that the dramatic side of the story is still interesting without the fantasy elements. And Baquero was completely convincing in her role.
López also gave a chilling performance as Vidal, a man who was willing to brutalize or kill anyone who stood in the way of his cause or ambitions. Vidal also seems to have open contempt for Ofelia, despite his apparent love for Carmen and their unborn child. Having said that, Vidal has no redeeming features and he is one of the most loathsome characters del Toro has ever created, and that covers a lot of territory.
Maribel Verdú was impressive as Mercedes, the film’s secondary protagonist who acts as a spy against Vidal’s forces. Besides Carmen, Mercedes is the only one who truly loves Ofelia and wants to save her. Finally, we’d be remiss if Jones wasn’t given his flowers for his wonderfully otherworldly performances as the Faun and the Pale Man. In full prophetic makeup, Jones truly looks like he stepped out of a dark fairy tale.
It blurs the line between fantasy and reality
Early in the movie, the Faun appears to Ofelia and tells her that she is actually Princess Moanna, a member of the royal family from an underworld kingdom. To reclaim her birthright, the Faun gives Ofelia three tasks to prove that she is who he believes her to be. The real question is whether Ofelia is imagining her encounters with the Faun, or if she has truly crossed over into an unseen fantasy realm.
Some of Ofelia’s trials are truly terrifying, and the places she visits have such vivid details that it’s hard to believe that it all came from her mind. However, the film does show that Vidal can’t see the Faun in the one scene where both characters are present. That may lend credence to the idea that this was all in Ofelia’s mind. But it should also be noted that the Faun gave Ofelia a magic root to help heal her sick mother, which seemed to work … until Vidal discovered it and threw it in a fire.
The ending is open to interpretation
We’re not going to spoil the ending here, except to say that the story either ends on a terrible tragedy or a moment of hope. It all depends on whether you believe Ofelia was Princess Moanna or simply an ordinary girl whose imagination ran away with her. Either way, this is a film that will stay with you long after you’ve finished watching it.
Watch Pan’s Labyrinth on Prime Video.
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