Earlier this evening, I sat through Pan's Labyrinth as I covered my books in clear plastic. To my surprise, it was not the movie I imagined it to be. I initially dismissed it as too scary a film for my taste based on the reviews of those who have seen it back in 2006. It turned out that the movie is my kind of scary, and let me say this in Spanish as I have always been fascinated with the language and it is rather fitting:
Es tan bueno! El Laberinto del Fauno es de hecho una obra clasica moderna del dia.
It should translate to, "It is so good! Pan's Labyrinth is indeed a modern day classic." I think.
Anyway, the movie reminded me of the phantasmagorical films I favored when I was a kid such as the NeverEnding Story and Labyrinth. However, Guillermo del Toro's work is far more than a child's fairy tale. It is a dark body of work that is brilliant and poignant at the same time; a clever mesh between fantasy and reality wherein the latter is grittier, more horrific and ferocious than its fantastic counterpart. Also, Pan's Labyrinth is both sinister and scary as it presents a foreboding sense of supernatural evil juxtaposed against the actual evils of mankind.
Near the end of the movie, Ofelia, the protagonist of the story, was shot dead by his stepfather. Subsequent scenes showed that she completed the three tasks and that she was allowed to return to the Underworld as Princess Moanna. Apparently, her death was instrumental to her return.
Such is the paradox of life. Much like how we need to stumble so we may stand; sometimes, we need to die a little for us to live again.
