Pan’s Labyrinth

January 18th, 2008 · No Comments

Pan’s Labyrinth (Spanish: El Laberinto del Fauno, literally The Faun’s Labyrinth) is an Academy Award–winning Spanish language fantasy film written and directed by Mexican film-maker Guillermo del Toro.

Pan’s Labyrinth takes place in a dual setting: in the “real world” the story is set in Spain during the turbulent period shortly after the Spanish Civil War, and tells an allegorical story of a girl named Ofelia who is given three tasks by a mysterious faun. Meanwhile, her stepfather, the Falangist Captain Vidal, viciously hunts the Spanish Maquis, guerrillas who continued fighting the Franco regime in the region, as her pregnant mother grows ill. The alternate setting is a secret “fantasy world” that Ofelia enters through an overgrown labyrinth garden, where she meets all manner of strange and magical creatures who become central to her story. The film employs make-up, puppetry, and CGI effects to create its creatures.