Pan's Labyrinth
A dark fantasy film set in Francoist Spain, intertwining reality and myth.
Pan's Labyrinth (Spanish: El laberinto del fauno) is a 2006 dark fantasy film produced, written, and directed by Guillermo del Toro. The film stars Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Doug Jones, and Ariadna Gil, and is an international co-production between Spain and Mexico. Set in Francoist Spain in the summer of 1944, the narrative intertwines the real world with a mythical world centered on an abandoned labyrinth and a faun, following the protagonist Ofelia.
- Release year
- 2006
- Director
- Guillermo del Toro
- Country of production
- Spain and Mexico (co-production)
- Genre
- Dark fantasy
- Notable awards
- Three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards including Best Film Not in the English Language, Ariel Award for Best Picture, Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
- Box office
- $83 million worldwide
Lore & Background
The story follows ten-year-old Ofelia, who travels with her pregnant mother to meet her new stepfather, Captain Vidal, a Falangist officer hunting Spanish Maquis. A stick insect that Ofelia believes to be a fairy leads her into an ancient labyrinth, where she meets a faun who believes she is the reincarnation of Princess Moanna. The faun gives her three tasks to complete to gain immortality and return to her kingdom. Ofelia's tasks include retrieving a key from a giant toad and a dagger from the Pale Man, a child-eating monster, but she disobeys the faun's warning and awakens the Pale Man, who devours two fairies. The faun abandons her, but later returns to offer a third task involving her newborn brother's blood, which Ofelia refuses to spill.
Reader's Guide
Pan's Labyrinth premiered on 27 May 2006 at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received a 22-minute-long standing ovation, the longest in the festival's history. It garnered widespread critical acclaim for its visual and makeup effects, direction, screenplay, cinematography, musical score, set design, and cast performances. The film grossed $83 million worldwide and won numerous awards, including three Academy Awards and three BAFTA Awards. Del Toro considers the story a parable influenced by fairy tales, and a spiritual successor to his 2001 film The Devil's Backbone. Pan's Labyrinth has since been considered del Toro's magnum opus, one of the best fantasy films ever made, and one of the greatest films of the 2000s and the 21st century. A sequel titled 3993 was conceived but cancelled, and a novelization by del Toro and Cornelia Funke was published in 2019.
Did You Know?
- The film received a 22-minute-long standing ovation at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, though it is not the longest in the festival's history.
- Del Toro stated that Pan's Labyrinth is a spiritual successor to his 2001 film The Devil's Backbone.
- A sequel titled 3993 was conceived by del Toro but ultimately cancelled.
- The film's protagonist Ofelia is played by Ivana Baquero, who was 11 years old during filming.
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