The Voice

Issue date: 1/29/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: Picturehouse

The critics must be joking. Acclaimed as one of the most intriguing films of the year, director Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth has been assigned the role of the top cinematic import to provide American movie-goers with contrasting tastes of both fantasy and reality. Such an expectation is difficult to meet; in this case a handful of enchanting scenes does not compensate for the botched ideal that del Toro was striving to achieve.

The overwhelming praise from critics nationwide might be enough to rationalize the purchase of a ticket, but it will hardly suffice as a material reason for enjoying the film. From start to finish there exists neither an exposition nor a climax, simply minutes of lulling story that creates a strong anticipation of something greater but ultimately offers no satisfaction. Like a small child strapped in for a cross-country ride to Grandma's the only thought invoked in the audience is, "When will we get there? When will it end?" But del Toro's vehicle blows a tire on the way, and we're forced to sit idle, stranded, and simply waiting… for anything.

The film's plot is based around the personal turmoil of Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), a young girl living amid the social variance of post-Spanish Civil War Spain. After she and her mother (Ariadna Gil) are forced by familial obligation to stay with the malicious despot Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez), the fantastic happenings so common between the pages of Ofelia's beloved fairy tales materialize in such a way that they mirror the reality of her newfound environment. The grim ambiance portrayed in the film is a somber representation of her exploited innocence.

A true devotee to fantasy, the young girl employs imagination to escape from the tribulations brought on by the foreign environment she is unwillingly thrust into, and in many ways the screaming irony is that her fictitious world is more real than reality itself. In order to be certain of the true divide between dark fantasy and an even darker reality, the viewer's undivided attention is required. This turns out to be a lot to ask for in a film as dull as this.

For excited film-goers, abandoning expectations will probably enhance your viewing experience or at least help to remedy consequent negative feelings about the movie. The dialog is entirely Spanish with English subtitles and venturing into the film without knowledge of this might prove costly for the non-Spanish-speaking viewers intent on understanding the web of interweaved events or spotting the religious symbolism that invades the story line.

As for the element of fantasy, it is disappointing that the imaginary realm is seldom visited. Assuming that Pan's Labyrinth is an obscured fantasy equipped with marvelous creatures and creative twists is to accept that the film is 90 percent historical drama interspersed with gratuitous violence and creatures as un-exciting as a gluttonous toad and a moving statue. In fact, the most lackluster of all characters is none other than Pan himself, whose contributive utterances are poorly worded and emotionally off.

Not to entirely discredit the film, del Toro does make use of a superbly talented cast. If the measure of the movie were solely based on the quality of acting, perhaps Pan's Labyrinth would have been a success. Unfortunately, the epicenter of the film is not the acting, nor even the actors-it is the story that del Toro translated onto the screen, a story devoid of coherency, congruity, and most importantly, imagination. Instead of mystique and mischief of a dark, guised nature, the audience is given a movie that's missing its integral piece. In truth, the finished product is little more than a mock of the artistry accredited to such an enchanting film idea. The entire story seems like a feeble attempt to incorporate Roald Dahl-esque qualities into an original screenplay.

Conceptually one might assume Pan's Labyrinth to be stunning or cinematically innovative, yet on screen, such praise is unmerited.

The fantasy: Pan's Labyrinth is an eerily poignant film that bridges the imaginative world with ideologies of human nature.

The reality: paying $9.75 for a ticket isn't worth two hours of sterile creativity.

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