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Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that, while this gorgeous, subtitled Spanish fantasy-drama focuses on an 11-year-old girl's experience, it's not meant for children. It's full of mature themes and violent scenes (including the bloody death of a child) -- in fact, it opens on the face of a child who has been hurt, her mouth bleeding. The villain is a captain in the fascist military who repeatedly brutalizes others: He berates his wife, threatens his stepdaughter, kills villagers (beating them and shooting point-blank), and tortures his servant. Weapons include guns, knives, and grenades; some violent acts are explicit on screen (pain and bloody wounds visible). Some of the creatures Ofelia meets are frightening: The giant toad, the Faun, and the Pale Man are all strange, noisy, and physically threatening. Language includes two uses of "f--k."
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What's the story?
In 1944, 11-year-old Ofelia (the phenomenal Ivana Baquero) is traveling with her pregnant mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil), en route to her new stepfather's military outpost in Northern Spain. But Capitán Vidal (Sergi López) has no interest in Ofelia or even her mother -- all he cares about is passing on his name and legacy to the son Carmen carries. Luckily for Ofelia, she meets Mercedes (Maribel Verdú), Vidal's housekeeper, who's secretly helping the maquis hiding in the woods while they plan strikes against the fascists. Ofelia's journey parallels Mercedes'; their stories are both fantastic and strange, incorporating conventions of fairy and folk tales, legends, and myths. As Ofelia tells her unborn brother stories about the war she's seen, she opens the way into her own fantasy-filled present, which is overseen by a Faun (Doug Jones). He identifies her as the Underground Realm's long-missing Princess Moanna and hands her a book full of blank pages, declaring that it will show her future. She must follow its instructions to discover whether she's worthy of being the princess and returning to her kingdom.
Is it any good?
QUALITY
Part fairy tale, part adventure story, and part political allegory, PAN'S LABYRINTH (El Laberinto del Fauno) is, most wonderfully, focused on a brave little girl.
Families can talk about...
Families can talk about the nature of fairy tales. How do they reflect (and comment upon) real-life experiences? In this movie, how do Ofelia's experiences in the fantastical world mirror what she's going through at home?
Movie details
| Theatrical release date: | December 29, 2006 |
| DVD release date: | May 15, 2007 |
| Cast: | Ivana Baquero, Maribel Verdu, Sergi Lopez |
| Director: | Guillermo Del Toro |
| Studio: | Picturehouse |
| Genre: | Fantasy |
| Run time: | 120 minutes |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | graphic violence and some language. |
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QUALITY
Brilliant fairytale is not for children
Pan's Labyrinth is a dark, morbid fairytale that will both stun and amaze you at the same time. It revolves around an eleven year old girl that discovers she is the daughter of a god, and must complete three gruesome tasks before the moon is full in order to reunite with him in the kingdom of heaven. With imperfect acting by Ivana Baquero and many others, this is definitely one of my all time favorites. But, based on the graphic nature of this film I must not recommend it for anyone under the age of thirteen or fourteen. While it is intriguing, it is also extraordinarily violent, making it not acceptable for persons under the age of thirteen or fourteen. A message to parents: This movie can get very graphic at times, ranging from moderately bloody to obscenely gory, the worst being a young man getting his face smashed in to a bloody pulp by a vodka bottle. This is only for mature audiences, making this off-limits for the little ones unless you think they are ready to view such violent content. A message to kids: Viewing this movie does not make you cool, contrary to what many of your peers will tell you with Restricted movies. This will only give you nightmares for nights on end; I know this because at the age of thirteen I had to shut it off three times in order to finish it, and I had to pay the price by having most unpleasant dreams of the Pale Man coming to get me. If your parents do permit you to see this, beware that you will not rest easy after watching it. Suggested MPAA Rating: Rated R for Strong, Graphic Violence, Language, and some Grotesque Images.
What other families should know
Too much violence
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QUALITY
Pan's Labyrinth: Nothing short of amazing
Pan's Labyrinth is a brilliant adventure from start to finish. A great blend of horrific violence and fantasy charms. Guillermo del Toro takes other fairy tales such as Alice in Wonderland or The Chronicles of Narnia and makes them his own. The film is brilliant and creative in every way. Note to parents: The movie contains bloody, horrific violence all the way through, though the worst is off-screen. Some uses of f--k are present and some other curses too. Older teens only.
What other families should know
Too much violence
Too much swearing
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QUALITY
This is a complex film for complex viewers. Considering it's in subtitles, younger kids would not be able to watch it, it requires a good reader to keep up with the lines so that's why I suggest age 12. You will need to gauge your child's maturity level before watching this: there is a scene where a man bashes another man's face in with the bottom of a bottle, a scene where a man is stabbed and his lip cut open so much that he has to sew it together later. There are graphic scenes, and it is set in a war setting so that in itself is very mature. There is a fairy tale element as the story is told mostly from the child's perspective and one woman who is a guerrilla and sort of a maid for the child. It is a movie worth watching, and just make sure your kids are mature enough to watch it.
What other families should know
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
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