El laberinto del fauno (2006)

Director:

Guillermo del Toro

Writer:

Guillermo del Toro (written by)

Release Date:

19 January 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

What happens when make-believe believes it's real?

Plot:

In the fascist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.

Plot Keywords:

Spain | Fairy | Faun | Princess | Task

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 68 wins & 58 nominations

Cast

Ivana Baquero	...	Ofelia
Sergi López	...	Captain Vidal
Maribel Verdú	...	Mercedes
Doug Jones	...	Fauno / Pale Man
Ariadna Gil	...	Carmen Vidal
Álex Angulo	...	Doctor
Manolo Solo	...	Garcés
César Vea	...	Serrano
Roger Casamajor	...	Pedro
Ivan Massagué	...	El Tarta
Gonzalo Uriarte	...	Francés
Eusebio Lázaro	...	Padre
Francisco Vidal	...	Sacerdote (as Paco Vidal)
Juanjo Cucalón	...	Alcalde
Lina Mira	...	Esposa del alcalde

Also Known As:

Pan's Labyrinth (International: English title)
The Labyrinth of the Faun (International: English title) (informal literal title)

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic violence and some language.

Runtime:

UK:119 min | Finland:120 min | Canada:112 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Spain | Mexico | USA

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R | UK:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Ireland:16 (theatrical rating) | Italy:VM14 | France:-12 | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:R21 | Norway:15 | Australia:MA | Belgium:KNT | Singapore:NC-16 (cut) | Taiwan:R-12 | Germany:16 | Argentina:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Spain:18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | New Zealand:R16 | Malaysia:18PL | Netherlands:16 | Mexico:C | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | South Korea:15 | Brazil:16 | Japan:PG-12 | Iceland:12 | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Sweden:15 | Ireland:18 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Belchite, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain

Company:

Tequila Gang

Trivia:

The ruined town seen during the opening sequence of the film is the old town of Belchite, which was also used by Terry Gilliam for The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), The town was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War and never rebuilt.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the scene where Ofelia picks up her little brother to take him with her, the baby is crying and making noise but when she turns around you can see the baby is a doll and is not animated in any way.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Pan: A long time ago, in the underground realm, where there are no lies or pain, there lived a Princess who dreamed of the human world. She dreamed of blue skies, soft breeze, and sunshine. One day, eluding her keepers, the Princess escaped. Once outside...

Movie Connections:

References Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Soundtrack:

The Funeral (El Funeral)

Beautiful!

I saw this at this years FrightFest Film Festival in London and absolutely loved it.

Guillermo was there to introduce it and you can tell it really is a film he loves and is passionate about.

He referred to it as a sister movie to The Devils Backbone.

Anyway . . . so the film starts and I must admit I was expecting a lot more of a fantasy film however it is more of a 70/30 split between historical era movie/fantasy fairytale.

Don't let this put you off though, the film really is stunning and brilliantly acted. The little girl carries pretty much the whole film on her shoulders and does so with the skill of Atlas himself!

The violence is graphic and the monsters are scary but it is probably one of the most gorgeous and personal films from a director for a long time!

Give it a go if you can get to a screening, DON'T WAIT FOR DVD, it really does need to be seen on a big screen!