For my Spanish class we had to watch “El Laberinto del Fauno” or in English it’s translated to “Pans Labyrinth.” I had never seen this movie before, but was excited to because it was a movie created by Spanish director Guillermo del Toro in 2006. Before you read about it in my post watch the trailer here: El Laberinto del Fauno Trailer.
The beginning of the story starts in the underworld, in which it talks of a princess that escaped. Her father (who is eventually the faun) waits for her to return in another soul. The setting of the movie is in fascist Spain in the 1940’s. A girl named Ofelia and her mother go to live with a general who is part of the fascist movement . Ofelia is obsessed with reading fairy tales and lives in a fantasy world. Her fantasy world comes to life as one day a ‘fairy’ brings her to ‘el laberinto’ where the faun awaits her. She is then assigned tasks from a magical book to prove that the her soul is the same as the princess’s of the underworld.
Along the way, Ofelia faces the negative influence of her step father, the general. When Ofelia’s mother finally gives birth to her little brother, she dies instantly after. After the shock of her mothers death, Ofelia finishes the tasks of the faun. The final task given by the faun is to bring him the blood of an innocent one. Ofelia brings the faun her little brother.
I don’t want to spoil the movie — so you’ll have to watch the ending to see what happens from there. This movie was wonderfully written and directed. I loved that this movie was made and directed in Spain too. There are a lot of underlying meanings in this film as well. It asks the question of what the after life is, and shows the severity of the Spanish civil war. Warning: It’s a pretty graphic movie! Enjoy!