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Pan's Labyrinth (2006) Director - Guillermo Del Toro; Starring - Ivan Baquero, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Ariadna Gil, Doug Jones, Álex Angulo, Manolo Solo; Screenplay - Guillermo Del Toro; Rated R for violence and language.

I fear that should I ever eventually have children, I may be accused of attempting to traumatize the poor things. Because I think dark fairy tales are the best.

It isn't as though there isn't something rewarding about fairy tales that are cheery, light, and close out with "...and they lived happily ever after." I can and do appreciate happy endings as much as the next person. It's just that I find dark fairy tales, stories that can creep you out as much as instill a sense of the fantastic and the unreal are so much more rewarding and engrossing. Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth is that kind of fairy tale, though unquestionably one for adults.

Pan's Labyrinth is set against the backdrop of Spain in 1944. Franco's regime is fighting against leftist guerillas. In the midst of this, young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) and her mother Carmen (Ariadna Gil) have been sent to an outpost in the country by Carmen's husband Captain Vídal (Sergi López). Carmen is pregnant with Vidal's child. Vidal hopes to oversee Carmen and ensure his heir is born healthy and safe. At the same time, Vidal is pushing to snuff out a band of rebels who have been plaguing the countryside for some time.

Forgotten in the commotion over Carmen is poor Ofelia. She knows that Vidal does not care for her, as she is neither a son, not Vidal's child, born to Carmen with Carmen's first husband, long dead. Ofelia turns to books as an escape from the world that ignores her, indulging in fanciful tales of fairies and other mystical folk. When she sees a small flying bug in the woods, she insists it is actually a fairy, and there's no reason to believe that the thought is anything besides her imagination.

The faun tells Ofelia that in order to determine if she is truly the princess reincarnated, she must undertake three tasks to prove her spirit is still pure. These tasks will be increasingly more dangerous and take her into worlds she never imagined existed. Ofelia desperately wants the faun's story to be true. For in returning to that other world, Ofelia can escape the madness of the war, the indifference of Vidal, and perhaps save her mother who is enduring a very difficult pregnancy with Ofelia's unborn brother.

There are really two different stories contained within the film. In the present day tale, Vidal is ruthlessly attempting to destroy the rebellion contingent that has been striking at his forces randomly from the forested hills. He confronts this threat to his authority and that of the state he serves with a brutal efficiency. The scenes of warfare are tremendously violent, and Vidal shows a familiarity with the darkest element of human nature that will make your blood run cold.

Yet Vidal's arrogance blinds him to the fact that sympathizers with the rebels dwell even amongst his own people. Ofelia quickly finds a kindred spirit in Mercedes (Maribel Verdú), the housemother of sorts for the outpost. Mercedes doesn't believe in Ofelia's fanciful stories but supports the girl knowing that she's in a bad place at a bad time. Mercedes becomes a second mother to Ofelia when Ofelia needs her most, but her primary loyalty is to the rebels. Her brother fights alongside them, and as such, she has to focus on her true family.

In the second story being relayed, we have Ofelia trying to fulfill the quests presented to her by the faun. At first, they only stand to get her in trouble for disobeying her mother. As the tasks become more difficult, Ofelia finds herself in mortal danger every bit as menacing as that faced by the rebels. When she comes to the end of her journey, she's presented with a challenge no child should ever face. It is at that point in the film's climax that the two disparate stories collide head-on.

Visually, this film overwhelmed me. Del Toro employs some amazing set design, costuming and make up in the magical world. The faun is a breathtaking vision, very much a creature of the woods and he blends in seamlessly in spots to surprise you when you least expect it. And there is a creature in the pursuit of the second task that looks like it was lifted straight from a nightmare born of Clive Barker and Hieronymus Bosch. It is disturbing, frightening, and one of the coolest things I've seen.

I also enjoyed the way Del Toro framed much of this film to keep the sense that we were involved in a story as though it were being read instead of seen. He leans heavily on wipe cuts that moves the audience from one scene to the next and it made me feel like I was turning pages in a book, eager to see what it brought next.

But the visuals don't take away from the actors themselves in any way. Baquero as Ofelia is exceptional. She plays her scenes without laying it on too heavy in any way. She's an accomplished actress for only twelve years old. I'd love to see her do more work, either in the US or more Spanish films like this one.

The same could be said for Verdú as Mercedes, though I would have liked to see more from her character in the story. She's a compelling character, torn in her loyalties some, but doing all she can to try and be true to both allegiances. She also provides a sympathetic counterpoint to López's Vidal. She is the heart and conscience to counter Vidal's amoral menace.

Doug Jones as the faun was easily my favorite. The costume and makeup give the character so much presence, but Jones moves so easily in the costume and makes the faun a curious enigma of sorts. Up to the very end, I was never entirely certain whether the faun was friend or foe for Ofelia, and when the reveal is made in the film's climax, I was satisfied with where the answer lay.

Pan's Labyrinth is everything I love about foreign film. It holds an original and engaging story, well told and acted by all the participants. The visual effects were not obtrusive and lent so much to the story without overwhelming it. It is everything I think a grown up fairy tale should be. One that perhaps even my own children could share with me, if I should have them.

Once they're old enough to not be traumatized by their father and his peculiar tastes at least.

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