by Brandie Ashe
To say that Guillermo del Toro’s 2006 fantasy El laberinto del fauno (Pan’s Labyrinth) borrows from Lewis Carroll’s classic children’s novel Alice in Wonderland is an understatement. But this film is no kids’ tale. Whereas Alice’s adventure serves as a relatively tame diversion from the rigors of boring school lessons, Labyrinth’s sumptuously visual wonderland is, by necessity of the subject matter, a wholly darker, and far deadlier, place.
Taking place during the post-Civil War era in Spain, amid the ongoing struggles between soldiers of the Franco-controlled government and guerilla fighters (the “maquis”), Pan’s Labyrinth focuses on Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), whose pregnant mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil), brings her to live in an old mill in the countryside that serves as a base of command for her new husband, Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez). Vidal, a cruel and sadistic commander who has been tasked with hunting down the “maquis,” cares little for his new family; his only concern is for the healthy delivery of his soon-to-arrive son, even if it comes at the expense of his bride’s life.
During their trip to their new home, Ofelia encounters a large insect which she instinctively recognizes as a fairy, and later that evening follows the fairy into the crumbling stone labyrinth behind the mill. There she encounters a faun, who claims that she is the lost “Princess Moanna,” who long ago her father’s underworld kingdom for the surface, lost her memory, and died. Per the story, it was foretold that the princess’s spirit, residing in the body of another, would one day find her way back to the underworld, and the faun gives Ofelia three tasks to complete in order to prove that she is indeed the reincarnation of the long-lost princess.
Ofelia’s fantastical journey is woven quite beautifully and skillfully with the grittier real-life plot surrounding Vidal’s attempt to crush the guerrilla resistance, even when the reality of Ofelia’s quest is challenged in the film’s heartbreaking denouement. It’s little wonder that the faun’s fairy story appeals greatly to young Ofelia, who seeks to escape the sorrow of her father’s death, and the nightmare of her mother’s remarriage to the evil Vidal, through a handful of cherished books that function as her portal to another world (literally, as it turns out, when the faun gives her a magical book that reveals the secrets of her designated tasks). On an allegorical level, Ofelia’s attempts to regain what “Princess Moanna” has lost reflects her desires to regain the life she herself lost to the rigors of war; imagination is her salvation, the means to restore a sense of order to her chaotic world.
In that way, she is somewhat the opposite of Carroll’s Alice, who escapes her more orderly world into the disordered tumble of Wonderland. But there are nonetheless distinct similarities between the two characters that are inescapable. Like Carroll’s Alice, Ofelia thinks nothing of darting off in chase of a curious creature: here, a stick insect in lieu of a white rabbit. And Ofelia’s first task, in which she must climb inside the roots of a cavernous fig tree and retrieve a golden key from the belly of a giant toad, is reminiscent of Alice’s shimmying down the rabbit hole (and as if to further underscore the connection between the two girls, Ofelia sports a pinafore that looks remarkably identical to the one traditionally worn by Alice in most film adaptations).
Still, Ofelia differs greatly from Carroll’s rather naive Alice in that, having experienced firsthand the more dangerous aspects of life, she is better equipped to handle the oddities with which she is presented, and more readily accepts them as fact than a curious fiction. [And for the sake of argument (because yes, it could be argued that Ofelia’s adventure is a mere hallucination, a fabrication that she invented to cope with the horrors of war which surrounded her), let’s presume that the faun is real, the quest an actuality rather than a daydream.] Ofelia does not question the faun’s proclamation that she is the princess, instead embracing the idea wholeheartedly. She obeys nearly every instruction, and unlike Alice, Ofelia suffers very real consequences when she neglects to do so—for her fantasy world is no more an escape from the looming threat of death than “real life” itself.
Indeed, Ofelia must balance completion of the faun’s quest with the equally dangerous business of simply surviving life in the Captain’s household. With an insight that belies her youth, Ofelia instinctively knows that she cannot reveal what she knows about Mercedes (Maribel Verdu), the housekeeper who spies on Vidal for the rebels; just as surely, she understands that revealing the existence of the magical mandrake root (which the faun gave her to “cure” her mother’s difficult pregnancy) will enrage the superstitious Captain. Indeed, if anything “proves” the faun’s claim that Ofelia harbors an ancient soul, it is this preternatural wisdom of hers, and the sense that into a mere decade of existence, she has crammed a lifetime’s worth of knowledge about how the world truly works.
But then, this is what war does. Its horrific lessons prompt premature “wisening”; it makes adults of the youngest of children, aging them before their time, stealing innocence and replacing it with fear and hopelessness and resignation. And yet, as Pan’s Labyrinth comes to an end, Ofelia escapes that fate—for though she is ultimately sacrificed on the altar of the labyrinth, Ofelia completes her quest, earns her rewards, and manages to find peace in a world in which it remains in short supply. Tragic, yes. But hopeless? Far from it.
Brandie,
Thank you for this great summary of Pan Labyrinth ! I own a DVD Copy and have watched it at least twice, funny I never even considered Alice In Wonderland connection. Duh! I suppose I saw, the hero’s journey, a battle of light and dark, a child is innocent a full of light, believes in magic that adults no longer can see or believe in. Their reality is dark, control, war, etc. even with the birth of child. Ofelia’s journey is much much darker and scarier than Alice’s of course and the darkness is banished more or less.
It is a great film, beautifully created, frightening, and bitter sweet !
Thank you! I probably should have prefaced this piece with the confession that I’m an Alice in Wonderland fanatic–in most forms, written and cinematic–so those connections jumped out at me immediately the first time I saw PL. I think it’s one of the reasons I embraced this movie the first time I saw it, and why I continue to return to it again and again.
What a very interesting piece. I must say that, while noticing the Alice connection, I’d regarded it as a sort of embellishment rather than as central to the movie, but you make a very convincing case for that greater importance. I’ll have to try to find time to rewatch the movie with this in mind. Many thanks!
Thank you! As I said in the above reply, I’m kind of obsessed with Alice, so that does tend to color my view of PL–and every time I watch it, I notice more connections to Carroll’s story. It works beautifully as an homage to Alice in certain ways.
I did notice the connection to Alice when I first saw it the year of release. Fascinating review! I like the film well enough, particularly that remarkable color cinematography.
Thanks, Peter! It is a truly gorgeous film to look at, isn’t it?
Haven’t see this yet but can still appreciate the excellent review in its defense.
Do see it soon! It’s well worth the time.
Great piece, Brandie. I also hadn’t thought about the Alice connection, but will bear it in mind when watching the film again.
Thank you very much, Judy!
Ofelia’s fantastical journey is woven quite beautifully and skillfully with the grittier real-life plot surrounding Vidal’s attempt to crush the guerrilla resistance, even when the reality of Ofelia’s quest is challenged in the film’s heartbreaking denouement.
Brandie, that is the problem I have with this film, though I am well-aware that I am in a severe minority. I felt the fantastical elements clashed with the film’s barbarous reality, and as a result the over-the-top gore and torture overwhelm the carefully orchestrated sublime imagery. The sadistic elements succeed in making this a very ugly film, and Del Toro’s inventiveness almost seems beside the point. Yet, so many have celebrated it and remain fervent fans.
Your review is strictly master-class. Yes the Alice in Wonderland connection if obvious, but your beautiful discussion enhances that and the film’s other pertinent themes and components. Beautiful work here!
Thanks, Sam! I understand your discomfort with those more sadistic moments of violence in the film. I’ll admit I avert my eyes during some of those scenes (the benefit of having seen it half a dozen times and anticipating the gory bits). But I also think that the juxtaposition between the horrific reality and the equally frightening fantasy world serves to underscore just how precarious Ofelia’s situation is. She’s really not safe anywhere, but what’s remarkable is her undeniable bravery in both realms, and her determination to see the faun’s quest through–I guess in some ways it could be seen as a religious allegory (suffering humanity finding everlasting salvation in the afterlife and all that), but to me it’s more of an affirmation of the power of hope in the face of overwhelming darkness. I think that’s why it sticks with me, and why I count myself among those many fervent fans.
Brandie I’m ashamed to admit that I haven’t seen this film yet. I kept meaning to get back to watching it at some point, as I missed it on its original release. But it kept getting bumped for other films and I kind of forgot about it. I will need to correct that soon though once and for all!
Yes, please do! As you can probably tell from my unrepentant gushing, I recommend it wholeheartedly. 🙂