Remove ads

Information

A.k.a.
Pan's Labyrinth
Year
2006
Runtime
118 min.
Director
Guillermo del Toro
Genres
Drama, Fantasy, War
Rating *
8.2
Votes *
424,718
Checks
74,255
Favs
8,297
Dislikes
527
Favs/checks
11.2% (1:9)
Favs/dislikes
16:1
* View IMDb information

Top comments

  1. CinemaDump's avatar

    CinemaDump

    Pan's Labyrinth is best described as a fairy tale that isn't all that kid friendly. Some imagery is pretty frightening, the film has a very dark and depressing vibe. There are also some pretty brutal scenes that you won't forget. It's the kind of movie you show your kid if you want them to be haunted by it forever.

    The thing is though, Guillermo del Toro has created a perfect fairy tale. Pan's Labyrinth is set in the real world with a fantasy world that exists alongside it. The story deals with a princess, fantastical beings and magic but never does any of it actually feel fake. That's one of the great things about Pan's Labyrinth. These elements can be explained by the main character's imagination or indeed real as Ofelia sees them. The decision rests with the viewer.

    It's 1944 and Spain is embroiled in a another conflict five years after the Spanish Civil War. There are rebels who oppose current dictator Fransisco Franco and Captain Vidal (Sergi López) is in charge of a camp attempting to exterminate any dissent. Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) arrives to the camp with her pregnant mother (Ariadna Gil) who recently got married to Vidal. This was done mostly because of circumstance following the death of Ofelia's father. A little beyond the camp, Ofelia meets Fauno (Doug Jones) in the middle of a labyrinth who proclaims her to be the princess in another world. She must complete three tasks and she will be allowed to take her place in this kingdom.

    The story is really the centerpiece of Pan's Labyrinth. There always seems to be some kind of problem while Ofelia tries to accomplish her tasks and hardly anyone that she can every truly trust. Captain Vidal is a nightmare of a man who doesn't care for Ofelia one bit so she can't turn to him. All he cares about is the son that Carmen will give birth to. Even the Faun who says that she's a princess is suspicious and probably untrustworthy. Little hints here and there prod you as a viewer in a certain direction without ever being 100% sure of anything until the very end and it's just glorious.

    For a fantasy movie, never do the CGI elements become overbearing. With a combination of makeup, costumes, animatronics and CGI, del Toro has created some beautiful designs without going overboard. The human characters are very much the main stars of Pan's Labyrinth and are supplemented very nicely by the fantasy elements. Doug Jones in his dual role is unrecognizable as anything resembling a human being. All of the sets where the story takes place are also extremely well done and believable.

    One thing I really like about Pan's Labyrinth is how the actions of Ofelia in her fantasy world have a real impact on the real world. It adds a certain amount of additional danger and always makes you feel ill at ease for what the possible consequences will be when she goes back to the real world.

    Pan's Labyrinth is mildly violent on a couple of occasions but that's not to say that anything is glorified. What makes the violence seem worse is how calmly brutal the violent scenes really are. Captain Vidal is without a doubt the main reason for this and Sergi López deserves a lot of credit for his portrayal. A lot of the time though, when something that would be gory is about to happen, the scene cuts which in a sense makes things worse because you're left imagining what will happen.

    del Toro has written an absolutely beautiful story that has the right combination of fantasy and real life. It's not an easy movie to watch for how much powerful it is but one that is worth watching even for those who aren't used to watching foreign movies. The great thing is that the subtitles are of extremely good quality because del Toro wrote them himself which isn't a common thing to do for filmmakers. It's his movie 100% and it's one that will leave a lasting impression on you. Although I'm hoping for another Hellboy movie, I hope that del Toro thinks about pursuing some sort of fairy tale like Pan's Labyrinth again. Just some sort of spiritual successor and I would be a happy camper.

    8.5/10
    9 years 8 months ago
  2. indiastokers's avatar

    indiastokers

    Very beautiful movie, it went directly on my list of favorite movies. 12 years 8 months ago
  3. Brantastic16's avatar

    Brantastic16

    PERFECT. 12 years 6 months ago
See all comments

Friends

Login to see which of your friends have seen this movie!

Activity

  1. Ramo23 checked this movie 38 minutes ago
  2. beck99 and HenzouGT checked this movie 1 day 7 hours ago
  3. Isinha favorited this movie 1 day 14 hours ago
  4. Ewoin, heytc17 and Isinha checked this movie 2 days 7 hours ago
  5. nasovon tamiru and Therustler checked this movie 4 days 5 hours ago
  6. haileylane favorited this movie 5 days 17 hours ago
See more activity

In 33 official lists

  1. This movie ranks #5 in Empire's The 100 Best Films of World Cinema
    Empire's The 100 Best Films of World Cinema's icon

    Empire's The 100 Best Fi…

    5
  2. This movie ranks #10 in Cinema Tropical's Best Latin American Films 2000-2009
    Cinema Tropical's Best Latin American Films 2000-2009's icon

    Cinema Tropical's Best L…

    10
  3. This movie ranks #17 in BBC's The 21st Century's 100 Greatest Films
    BBC's The 21st Century's 100 Greatest Films's icon

    BBC's The 21st Century's…

    17
  4. This movie ranks #19 in IMDb's Fantasy Top 50
    IMDb's Fantasy Top 50's icon

    IMDb's Fantasy Top 50

    19
  5. This movie ranks #23 in Sector Cine's Best Mexican Films of All Time
    Sector Cine's Best Mexican Films of All Time's icon

    Sector Cine's Best Mexic…

    23
  6. This movie ranks #24 in iCheckMovies's 2000s Top 100
    iCheckMovies's 2000s Top 100's icon

    iCheckMovies's 2000s Top…

    24
  7. This movie ranks #24 in IMDb's War Top 50
    IMDb's War Top 50's icon

    IMDb's War Top 50

    24
  8. This movie ranks #32 in IMDb's 2000s Top 50
    IMDb's 2000s Top 50's icon

    IMDb's 2000s Top 50

    32
  9. This movie ranks #36 in A.V. Club's The Best Movies of the 2000s
    A.V. Club's The Best Movies of the 2000s's icon

    A.V. Club's The Best Mov…

    36
  10. This movie ranks #40 in 366 Weird Movies
    366 Weird Movies's icon

    366 Weird Movies

    40
  11. This movie ranks #45 in Butler's Fantasy Cinema: Impossible Worlds on Screen
    Butler's Fantasy Cinema: Impossible Worlds on Screen's icon

    Butler's Fantasy Cinema:…

    45
  12. This movie ranks #46 in TSPDT's 21st Century's Most Acclaimed Films
    TSPDT's 21st Century's Most Acclaimed Films's icon

    TSPDT's 21st Century's M…

    46
  13. This movie ranks #50 in FOK!'s Film Top 250
    FOK!'s Film Top 250's icon

    FOK!'s Film Top 250

    50
  14. This movie ranks #53 in Ariel Award - Best Mexican Film
    Ariel Award - Best Mexican Film's icon

    Ariel Award - Best Mexic…

    53
  15. This movie ranks #71 in Reddit Top 250
    Reddit Top 250's icon

    Reddit Top 250

    71
  16. This movie ranks #72 in Caimán's Top Spanish Films
    Caimán's Top Spanish Films's icon

    Caimán's Top Spanish Fil…

    72
  17. This movie ranks #73 in MovieSense 101
    MovieSense 101's icon

    MovieSense 101

    73
  18. This movie ranks #109 in Academy Award - Best Cinematography
    Academy Award - Best Cinematography's icon

    Academy Award - Best Cin…

    109
  19. This movie ranks #124 in iCheckMovies's Most Checked
    iCheckMovies's Most Checked's icon

    iCheckMovies's Most Chec…

    124
  20. This movie ranks #132 in Empire's The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time
    Empire's The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time's icon

    Empire's The 500 Greates…

    132
  21. This movie ranks #146 in IMDb's Top 250
    IMDb's Top 250's icon

    IMDb's Top 250

    146
  22. This movie ranks #170 in Jennifer Eiss's 500 Essential Cult Movies
    Jennifer Eiss's 500 Essential Cult Movies's icon

    Jennifer Eiss's 500 Esse…

    170
  23. This movie ranks #184 in TSZDT's The 1,000 Greatest Horror Films
    TSZDT's The 1,000 Greatest Horror Films's icon

    TSZDT's The 1,000 Greate…

    184
  24. This movie ranks #261 in Academy Award - Best International Feature Film Nominees
    Academy Award - Best International Feature Film Nominees's icon

    Academy Award - Best Int…

    261
  25. This movie ranks #308 in Roger Ebert's Great Movies
    Roger Ebert's Great Movies's icon

    Roger Ebert's Great Movi…

    308
  26. This movie ranks #342 in Harvard's Suggested Film Viewing: Narrative Films
    Harvard's Suggested Film Viewing: Narrative Films's icon

    Harvard's Suggested Film…

    342
  27. This movie ranks #346 in Emma Beare's 501 Must-See Movies
    Emma Beare's 501 Must-See Movies's icon

    Emma Beare's 501 Must-Se…

    346
  28. This movie ranks #349 in Sight & Sound's The Greatest Films of All Time
    Sight & Sound's The Greatest Films of All Time's icon

    Sight & Sound's The Grea…

    349
  29. This movie ranks #496 in The Guardian's 1000 Films to See Before You Die
    The Guardian's 1000 Films to See Before You Die's icon

    The Guardian's 1000 Film…

    496
  30. This movie ranks #516 in TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films
    TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films's icon

    TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest F…

    516
  31. This movie ranks #647 in The New York Times's Book of Movies
    The New York Times's Book of Movies's icon

    The New York Times's Boo…

    647
  32. This movie ranks #955 in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
    1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die's icon

    1001 Movies You Must See…

    955
  33. This movie ranks #997 in The Criterion Collection
    The Criterion Collection's icon

    The Criterion Collection

    997
View all lists this movie is in