Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

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

Director:

Guillermo del Toro

Writer:

Guillermo del Toro

Stars:

Ivana Baquero, Ariadna Gil, Sergi López

Top Rated Movies #130 | Won 3 Oscars. Another 99 wins & 105 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ivana Baquero	...	Ofelia
Sergi López	...	Vidal
Maribel Verdú	...	Mercedes
Doug Jones	...	Fauno / Pale Man
Ariadna Gil	...	Carmen
Álex Angulo	...	Doctor Ferreiro
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

Storyline

In 1944 falangist Spain, a girl, fascinated with fairy-tales, is sent along with her pregnant mother to live with her new stepfather, a ruthless captain of the Spanish army. During the night, she meets a fairy who takes her to an old faun in the center of the labyrinth. He tells her she's a princess, but must prove her royalty by surviving three gruesome tasks. If she fails, she will never prove herself to be the the true princess and will never see her real father, the king, again.

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Plot Keywords:

fairy | hiding | maze | spain | labyrinth | 

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Taglines:

Open the door to another world and an exciting new vision in cinema

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for graphic violence and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Spain] Pan-Européenne [France]

Country:

Spain Mexico USA

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

19 January 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pan's Labyrinth

Filming Locations:

Spain

Box Office

Budget:

€13,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

€1,545,313 (Spain), 15 October 2006, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$779,427, 31 December 2006, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$37,634,615

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$87,041,569

Company Credits

Production Co:

Estudios Picasso,Wild Bunch,Tequila Gang

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min 112 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Björk was so affected by this film that after seeing it, she went home and wrote the song "Pneumonia".

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Goofs

When Vidal slices the mirror with the razor, the shaving cream is disturbed by finger marks in one shot while in all others it is smooth.

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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, the brightness blinded her and erased every trace of the past from her memory. She forgot who she was and where she came from. Her body suffered cold, sickness, and pain. Eventually, she died. However, her father, the King, always knew...

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Crazy Credits

The title and the names of the actors and the production staff are not shown until the end of the film.

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Connections

Referenced in Deck-A-Rep: The True Nature of Rick Deckard (2007)

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Soundtracks

The Fairy and the Labyrinth/El hada y el laberinto
Written by Javier Navarrete
Produced by Emmanuel Chamboredon Ian P. Hierons
Courtesy of Milan Entertainment

User Reviews

Unexpected brilliance.

This is a movie with a simple and straightforward plot which contains layers and layers of intelligent writing, metaphors and message.

To speak further about the script will end up in spoilers and that would be pointless since my very purpose writing this review is to encourage people to see it.

This is no small feat, interpreting fantasy as something of a product of a real world, cross-referencing how the child acts to her real surroundings and the "other world", metaphors that describe the accelerated state of growing up some of us are put through... Incredible. Simple, straightforward yet there is so much to be appreciated.

Those who are saying how it's predictable and thus not enjoyable, I ask of you, which movie nowadays aren't predictable? Hell, even 21 grams was predictable but so damned good. It's not about how it ends, you can always predict how a movie would end if you've ever taken a half-decent script writing class or have some common sense. It's always about how well you tell a story.

I'm grateful there are still directors who aren't tied down to this new epidemic of including a plot twist simply because they need a plot twist.

Pan's Labyrinth features some of the best storytelling and attention to detail without being affected by the now ever-popular opinion of cameras having to be put through several technical difficulties to make the shots eligible to be called a brilliant shot.

I am also grateful for them not dubbing it. Watching it in its' original language is much, much more rewarding even if I had to rely on the subtitles for most of the time.

This is a brilliant movie. Watch it.