El laberinto del fauno (2006)

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

Guillermo del Toro

Writer:

Guillermo del Toro (written by)

Release Date:

19 January 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

What happens when make-believe believes it's real?

Plot:

In the fascist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.

Plot Keywords:

Spain | Fairy | Princess | Faun | Task

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 68 wins & 58 nominations

Cast

Ivana Baquero	...	Ofelia
Sergi López	...	Captain Vidal
Maribel Verdú	...	Mercedes
Doug Jones	...	Fauno / Pale Man
Ariadna Gil	...	Carmen Vidal
Álex Angulo	...	Doctor
Manolo Solo	...	Garcés
César Vea	...	Serrano
Roger Casamajor	...	Pedro
Ivan Massagué	...	El Tarta
Gonzalo Uriarte	...	Francés
Eusebio Lázaro	...	Padre
Francisco Vidal	...	Sacerdote (as Paco Vidal)
Juanjo Cucalón	...	Alcalde
Lina Mira	...	Esposa del alcalde
Mario Zorrilla	...	Jefe de botiquín
Sebastián Haro	...	Captain of Civil Guard
Mila Espiga	...	Esposa del doctor
Pepa Pedroche	...	Conchita
María Jesús Gattoo	...	Jacinta
Ana Sáez	...	Paz
Chani Martín	...	Trigo
Milo Taboada	...	Joven
Fernando Albizu	...	Maquinista
Pedro G. Marzo	...	Encargado
José Luis Torrijo	...	Sargento Bayona
Íñigo Garcés	...	Young Guerrilla
Fernando Tielve	...	Second Young Guerrilla
Federico Luppi	...	Rey
Chicho Campillo	...	Anciano
Pablo Adán	...	Narrator / Faun (voice) (as Pablo Adan)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chema Ruiz
Eduardo Aránega	...	Captain Vidal's Soldier (uncredited)

Directed by
Guillermo del Toro

Writing credits
Guillermo del Toro		(written by)

Produced by
Víctor Albarrán	....	line producer
Belén Atienza	....	executive producer
Álvaro Augustín	....	producer
Alfonso Cuarón	....	producer
Edmundo Gil	....	co-executive producer
Elena Manrique	....	executive producer
Bertha Navarro	....	producer
Guillermo del Toro	....	producer
Frida Torresblanco	....	producer

Original Music by
Javier Navarrete

Cinematography by
Guillermo Navarro

Film Editing by
Bernat Vilaplana

Casting by
Sara Bilbatúa

Production Design by
Eugenio Caballero

Costume Design by
Lala Huete

Makeup Department
David Martí	....	sfx makeup artist
José Quetglás	....	key makeup artist
Arjen Tuiten	....	special makeup effects artist: DDT

Production Management
Víctor Albarrán	....	unit production manager
Leire Aurrekoetxea	....	unit production manager
Mandy Goldberg	....	post-production supervisor
Michael Toji	....	post-production supervisor
Javier Ugarte	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jorge Calvo	....	first assistant director (as Jorge Calvo González)
Borja Grandio	....	second assistant director
Karin Marzocchini	....	third assistant director
Alberto Terrón	....	second assistant director (as Alberto Terron)
Jorge Vega	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Javier Alvariño	....	set draftsman
Alicia Castro	....	assistant art director
Patricia Cuevas	....	property master
Héctor Gil	....	property master
Carlos Giménez	....	sketches
Gabriel Liste	....	assistant art director
Raúl Monge	....	set draftsman
Raúl Monge	....	storyboard artist
Pilar Revuelta	....	set designer
Iñaki Rubio	....	key props buyer
William Stout	....	conceptual artist
Raul Villares	....	set draftsman
Carlos Zaragoza	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Jaime Baksht	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dana Blanco	....	sound effects editor
Michelle Couttolenc	....	sound recordist
Sergio Diaz	....	first sound editor
Martín Hernández	....	sound designer
Martín Hernández	....	supervising sound editor
Miguel Ángel Polo	....	sound (as Miguel Polo)
Alejandro Quevedo	....	first sound effects editor
Roland N. Thai	....	co-sound designer
Roland N. Thai	....	sound effects editor
Carlos Zamorano	....	foley artist

Special Effects by
César Abades	....	special effects technician
Óscar Abades	....	special effects technician
Reyes Abades	....	special effects supervisor
Javier Aliaga	....	special effects crew: DDT SFX
Ángel Alonso	....	special effects coordinator
Arturo Balceiro	....	special effects makeup
Xavi Bastida	....	special effects makeup
Nelly Guimaras	....	special effects makeup
Raquel Guirro	....	special effects assistant
Pau Loewe	....	special effects crew
David Martí	....	special effects makeup
José M. Meneses	....	special effects technician: DDT
Pablo Perona Navarro	....	special effects makeup: DDT SFX Crew
Montse Ribé	....	special effects makeup
Jose Manuel Rodrigo	....	special effects technician
Sergio Sandoval	....	creatures
Juan Serrano	....	special effects technician: DDT SFX
Aleix Torrecillas	....	special makeup effects: DDT
Joaquin Vergara	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Lindsay Anderson	....	roto/paint artist
Jeff Barnes	....	production executive: CafeFX
Ryan Bozajian	....	rotoscope artist
Mike Bozulich	....	lead compositor: CafeFX
Everett Burrell	....	visual effects supervisor
Kirk Cadrette	....	technical director
Jen Cantwell	....	rotoscope artist
Krishnamurti Costa	....	character animator and rigger: CafeFX (as Kris Costa)
Krishnamurti Costa	....	texture artist: CafeFX
Doug Cram	....	digital compositor
Steve Dellerson	....	visual effects
Dariush Derakhshani	....	effects animator
Domenic DiGiorgio	....	technical animation supervisor
David Ebner	....	associate producer
David Ebner	....	production executive: CafeFX
Alex Friderici	....	visual effects lead
Ron Friedman	....	animation supervisor
Vicki Galloway-Weimer	....	visual effects executive producer: CafeFX (as Vicki Galloway Weimer)
Phillip Giles	....	lighting technical director (as Phil Giles)
Soo Youn Han	....	character animator
Joseph Hoback	....	modeler (as Joe Hoback)
Wendy Hulbert	....	visual effects coordinator
Steve Hutchins	....	paint/roto artist
Vange Ingan	....	office staff: CafeFX
Edward Irastorza	....	co-visual effects supervisor
Edward Irastorza	....	visual effects producer
Tracy Nicole Irwin	....	character rigger (as Tracy Irwin)
Grzegorz Jonkajtys	....	lead animator (as Greg Jonkajtys)
Michael Kaelin	....	rotoscope artist
Michael Kennen	....	digital compositor
Alisa Loren Klein	....	lighting technical director
Derek Krauss	....	digital paint & roto artist
Scott Krehbiel	....	character rigger
Aaron Kupferman	....	digital compositor: Cafe FX
Chris LeDoux	....	digital compositor
Neil Lim Sang	....	animator: CafeFX
Debi Lyons	....	technical director
Chris MacKenzie	....	digital opticals
Szymon Masiak	....	effects animator
Laura Maynadé	....	scanning coordinator
Toby Newell	....	roto artist
Akira Orikasa	....	CG supervisor: CafeFX
Desi Ortiz	....	visual effects senior editor: CafeFX
Chris Pinto	....	rotoscope artist
Fernanda Plana	....	visual effects set coordinator
Lance Ranzer	....	paint/roto artist: CafeFX
Cory Redmond	....	lead CG artist
Richard R. Reed	....	digital compositor: CafeFX (as Richard Reed)
Ruben Rodas	....	paint/roto artist: CafeFX
Bernardo Rodriguez	....	assistant visual effects editor
Emilio Ruiz del Río	....	miniature supervisor
Patrice d.S. Saenz	....	technical director (as Patrice Saenz)
Mag Sarnowska	....	dustbuster
Aaron Singer	....	digital compositor
Eddie Soria	....	paint/rotoscope artist
Adam Stern	....	digital compositor: Cafe FX
Robert Stromberg	....	matte painting supervisor
Robert Tesdahl	....	lead software developer
Robert Tesdahl	....	software development supervisor
Jason Thielen	....	character animator
Danny Torres	....	systems engineer
Leigh van der Byl	....	lighting technical: CafeFX
Leigh van der Byl	....	technical director
Leigh van der Byl	....	texture painter: CafeFX
Tina Wallace	....	rotoscope artist
O.D. Welch	....	executive producer: CafeFX
W. Kale Whorton	....	visual effects editor
Melissa Widup	....	roto/paint artist: Cafe FX
Todd Widup	....	digital animator
Todd Widup	....	lead creature technical director: Cafe FX
Tom Williamson	....	compositing supervisor
Motassem Younes	....	digital opticals
Paul Griffin	....	animation supervisor: pre-production, CafeFX (uncredited)
Phillip Moses	....	production operations: CafeFX (uncredited)

Stunts
Guiomar Alonso	....	stunt double: Maribel Verdu
Eduardo Aránega	....	stunts
Nuria Bueno	....	stunt double
Ricardo Rocca	....	stunts
César Solar	....	stunts
Cuco Usín	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Sergio Delgado	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
David Domínguez	....	camera operator: "d" camera (as David Dominguez)
Jon Elizegui	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Alvaro Garcia	....	second assistant camera
Paco Laso	....	first assistant camera: "d" camera
David Lee	....	gaffer
Juan Leyva	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera (as Juan Leiva)
Rodrigo López	....	first assistant camera: "c" camera
Pavel Proisl	....	grip
Bernardo Rossetti	....	additional Steadicam operator (as Bernardo Rosetti)
Bruce Saintclaire	....	camera operator: "c" camera
Isabel Seco Velasco	....	video technician
Jaromir Sedina	....	Steadicam operator: "b" camera
Bruce St. Clair	....	camera operator: "c" camera (as Bruce Saintclaire)
Rick Stribling	....	key grip
José Luis Torrecilla	....	rigging gaffer
Tom Williamson	....	effects photography

Animation Department
Angie Jones	....	animator: CafeFX

Casting Department
Cristina Perales	....	casting assistant
Macarena Pombo	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Usue Peña	....	costume assistant
Yolanda Urquiza	....	seamstress

Editorial Department
Joe Fineman	....	post-production consultant
Francisco Amaro Gómez	....	assistant editor
Nick Iannelli	....	digital intermediate producer
Dave Muscat	....	digital intermediate editor
Laura Sanchez	....	film scanner
Evan Schiff	....	assistant editor
Chris Wallace	....	digital intermediate colorist
D. Todd Deeken	....	post-production services: New Line (uncredited)

Music Department
Brian Howard	....	conductor
Marc Blanes Matas	....	music recordist
Marc Blanes Matas	....	score mixer
Chema Ruiz	....	conductor
Miguel Sanchez	....	conductor

Other crew
Silvia Alonso	....	production assistant
Cristina Campos	....	production assistant
Marc De Blas	....	production assistant
Ana C. Izquierdo	....	production assistant (as Ana Izquierdo)
Yuriria Montero	....	assistant: Guillermo Del Toro (as Yuri Montero)
George Nicholis	....	publicist
Fernanda Plana	....	production assistant
Vivien Quetglas	....	production secretary
Carmen Soriano	....	script supervisor
Sally Steele	....	publicist
Tania Zarak	....	production assistant

Thanks
Jesus de la Vega	....	thanks
Alejandro González Iñárritu	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Tequila Gang
• Esperanto Filmoj
• Estudios Picasso
• OMM
• Sententia Entertainment
• Telecinco

Distributors

• Culture Publishers (CP) (2007) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Paradiso Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• IPA Asia Pacific (2007) (Thailand) (all media)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Senator Home Entertainment (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Senator Home Entertainment (2007) (Germany) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Special Effects

• CafeFX (visual effects)
• DDT Efectos Especiales (special effects) (as DDT)

Other Companies

• DeLuxe Toronto  digital intermediate (as Deluxe EFilm Toronto)
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• Marcella C. Public Relations  DVD publicity
• Mi Casa Multimedia  DVD/Blu-ray audio mastering 5.1, 7.1
• Milan Records  score album released by
• Penélope Producciones  extras casting
• Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, The  orchestra

Also Known As:

Pan's Labyrinth (International: English title)
The Labyrinth of the Faun (International: English title) (informal literal title)

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic violence and some language.

Runtime:

UK:119 min | Finland:120 min | Canada:112 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Spain | Mexico | USA

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R | UK:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Ireland:16 (theatrical rating) | Italy:VM14 | France:-12 | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:R21 | Norway:15 | Australia:MA | Belgium:KNT | Singapore:NC-16 (cut) | Taiwan:R-12 | Germany:16 | Argentina:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Spain:18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | New Zealand:R16 | Malaysia:18PL | Netherlands:16 | Mexico:C | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | South Korea:15 | Brazil:16 | Japan:PG-12 | Iceland:12 | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Sweden:15 | Ireland:18 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Belchite, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain

Company:

Tequila Gang

Trivia:

Also on the supplementary disc of the Platinum Series DVD, Guillermo del Toro indicates that the film is quilted with a pattern of three's. He mentions that this was intentionally done so as to evoke a greater sense of fairy tales and mythological traditions, both of which typically feature a hero or heroine existing amongst three's; for instance, "the three tasks".

Goofs:

Anachronisms: During the scene of the villagers coming to the mill to receive their food rations, a modern locomotive horn can be heard in the background.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Pan: A long time ago, in the underground realm, where there are no lies or pain, there lived a Princess who dreamed of the human world. She dreamed of blue skies, soft breeze, and sunshine. One day, eluding her keepers, the Princess escaped. Once outside...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Death Proof (2007)

Soundtrack:

Pan and the Full Moon (La Luna Llena y el Fauno)

The best fantasy of the past decade

Everyone's been raving about this. My opinion doesn't differ too much. It did however suffer slightly from the overwhelmingly high expectations I'd developed based on how brilliant everyone said it was, and the whole "20min ovation at Cannes" thing. Really, who stands for that long? That said, it's an amazing work.

Skipping the plot recap (find the briefest synopsis you can if you need to be filled in), I'll go straight to the tech specs. I'm not a huge Del Toro fan, Cronos was interesting but lacked something for me. Mimic was dross. Hellboy was enjoyable and Ron Perlman is always great on screen. But here, the director really outdoes himself. By far. He has wrapped together some amazing elements and somehow maintains a balance, that doesn't tip into the mundane or the ridiculous for a moment. And this is no mean feat. The story is part historical drama, part fantasy, part family melodrama. When it dips out of the fantasy, it still enchants.

Sergi Lopez and Maribel Verdú really drive the story in the historical drama scenes. I haven't seen Lopez in anything other than a film called Lisbon, in which he played a character so completely opposite from the Captain. He is a fierce and terrifying guy but actually comes across as sympathetic in a couple of scenes. Verdu is incredible as Mercedes, the head housekeeper (or something) who is Ofelia's closest friend in the house. The scenes with these characters and the civil war subplot never fail to hold your attention. Ivana Baquero is excellent as the main character Ofelia, her performance is very mature and believable and she shares some beautiful scenes with her mother and Mercedes.

When the fairy tale elements return, it's astounding how naturally they fit into the story. I think that is the real magic of this film. The war drama and the fairy tale stem so naturally from each other.

One thing that most reviews haven't mentioned is the violence. I think it's been firmly established that this is an adult's fairytale, but at times it is a very intense and brutal film. There are a couple of scenes in particular which are very disturbing and difficult to watch. These do not distract from the tone and theme of the film however so they don't seem exploitative at all. If you are squeamish, it may get a bit much for you.

A final and obvious point I spose I can't get away without making: the set design, costumes and effects are superb. That's all.

I was perhaps expecting a little more fantasy, but the unique blend of genres is absolutely compelling. There wasn't a false note anywhere or a plot hole, which are too often present in fantasy films. I can't recall a good, original fantasy film from recent years. Fortunately this blows MirrorMask out of the water. It doesn't share any of the contrivances, vagueness or ineffectual characters with that film.

I just wish I'd seen it without already having read so much. I've tried very hard to not reveal any plot details at all as it does go to some surprising and unexpected places. Fortunately most of the reviews have done the same. I'd urge anyone with the chance to see it to do so immediately, and try not to read too much more.