3. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Guillermo Del Toro is easily one of my all-time favourite directors and so it was very easy to be happy for him when he won both Best Director and Best Picture for The Shape of Water at last year's Oscars. However, these awards, in my opinion, are classic examples of the Academy's 'make-up' win. Yes, Shape of Water was a nice film to look at, a bit nostalgic to Hollywood and cinema, etc., but, it is definitely not Del Toro's best film. That accolade must go to Pan's Labyrinth.
In classic Del Toro fashion, Pan's Labyrinth is a dark, fantastical story. It stands out among his filmography in that it equally is also quite grounded; it is a historical piece set in 1944 Spain shortly after the country's tumultuous civil war. The film follows a young girl who's mother is the (somewhat-imprisoned) wife of a violent military captain who takes his forces, along with the girl, Ofelia, and her pregnant mother, to a large house out in the wilderness in order to find and destroy the rebel forces hiding there. While living in the forest, Ofelia is drawn to the titular labyrinth where she meets a creature who tells her that she is a lost princess and must complete three tasks in order to return to her kingdom.
The film wondrously jumps between these two worlds of Ofelia's - the 'real-life' oppressive world of the Captain's that she is confined within and the fantastical world that she slowly is introduced to. It is the juxtaposition between these worlds that is fascinating to behold. Though the fantasy world is clearly one that Ofelia uses to escape from her oppressive life to (like all good fantasy worlds), she, and the audience, quickly learn that the fantasy world may just be as dark and dangerous as the real one.
More than almost anything else, Del Toro is known for the gothic-fantasy style he creates in many of his films, and even more so, the incredible creatures he uses to fill those worlds with. Pan's Labyrinth is absolutely no exception to that rule. The Fawn (top photo) and The Pale Man (bottom photo), both marvelously played by Doug Jones, are two of Del Toro's greatest and most terrifying creations and ones that, once seen, cannot easily be forgotten.
Pan's Labyrinth is a film that draws you deep into its world and quickly absorbs you. In all accounts, it is a very dark film where a young girl tries to survive from the malevolent encounters she has with malevolent beings. And yet, it is a film that is easy to love. With Pan's Labyrinth, Del Toro has created a true adult fairy tale brimming with breath-taking atmosphere and creativity making it one film that every cinema lover should bear witness to.
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