Le Labyrinthe de Pan

Film qui a tout ce que les burtonnies avaient auparavant et n'ont plus maintenant - un contenu spirituel dans l'étreinte d'une visualisation incroyable. Une fusion unique de fantasmes qui présente le monde fantastique de l'imagination d'une petite fille au visage le plus cruel du monde des adultes. Deux films puissants en un, conduisant à un dénouement inattendu et poétique avec une grande portée intellectuelle. Le "Labyrinthe de Pan" est comme une adaptation d'un riche roman de fantasy, parfaitement adapté pour le grand écran. Le génie de Guillermo réside dans le fait qu'il l'a créé sans aucune référence, seulement selon son propre scénario, si complexe. C'est tout dans sa tête. L'établissement de la dimension terrifiante du film par les actions du personnage de Sergi López dès les premières minutes est discutablement brutal, mais un coup parfaitement fonctionnel ! (29/09/2017)

Bloody hell! That was harsher than I expected. One word: beauty. I don’t know which of the storylines I liked more, the fantasy or the war one, both are great. 90% PS: I hated Captain Vidal almost as much as Mrs Carmody from The Mist. (28/08/2008)

Via its distinctive treatment, the unique fairy tale theme is offered to a rather older audience, who will not only enjoy the decadent atmosphere but also the many exquisite details that director Del Toro uses to give his fantasy world a soulfulness and an overall feeling of perfect sophistication. The amazing sets, masks, and the contrast of the civil war with the fantasy world are just a sliding surface. The truth lies beneath the surface, where the viewer's imagination and brain must be engaged. Bravo! (24/08/2007)

A truly naturalistic drama from the twilight of the Spanish Civil War, which, through its groundwork of the neighboring worlds of reality and fantasy (surreal), recalls the director's film called Devil. Thanks to the difference between the two worlds, Pan's Labyrinth splits into two different levels – the level of bestial drama and the level of a Goya picturesque fairy-tale horror about the world behind the mirror. What I really miss in this film is the coherence and integrity of both fictional spaces. With the exception of the conclusion, from their union, I had the impression of a kind of discord, uselessness, and that it was forced. Maybe I'm too used to Burton's optics, in which everything has its order. Guillermo Del Toro has order mainly in the visual and technical concept, which is excellent and makes Pan's Labyrinth into a high-quality spectacle in terms of atmosphere, masks, set design and, last but not least, acting. In the end, the culmination of the film brought a clear moment of motivation to the whole scheme and dulled slightly my awkward impression of Del Toro's script. If this special genre mix doesn't appear in Czech movie theatres, the distributors should put their heads in the sand. Despite having a few criticisms, it's a hugely attractive experience and arguably the best endeavor of the Mexican's career... I place it in the poetic neighborhood of Tim Burton and partly Terry Gilliam. (31/03/2007)

The most balanced and the best del Toro movie I’ve seen. And it has the same theme music as in Circus Humberto. A chamber price about war with a big pinch of gloomy, fairytale fantasy. The problem is the length, because especially in the first hour the pace is far too relaxed. On the other hand, it is hard to fault the second half; everything is flawless. It’s a sort of successful concoction containing The Devil’s Backbone and the unmistakable storytelling poetry of Neil Gaiman. (26/12/2006)

Love that doesn't touch me, cruelty that becomes routine and a fairytale atmosphere that cannot provide the necessary comfort due to its fragmentation. Del Toro took on too big of a bite, which crumbled into two large crumbs. One slightly smaller, sweet yet bland, the other worn out and almost hard. And not tasty at all. Fragments of a fascinating world, successful atmosphere of fairies, Fauna and creatures from Ofelia's tasks, these are aspects that simply had to captivate me. But there remains the second part with the partisans, eternal failures, and the wild stubbornness of Captain Vidal. When the script tries to torment the viewer with "bad events" too much, it starts to bother me. But when every turn hides obstacles, misfortune, or disaster, sympathy for the main characters disappears completely. Compared to Hellboy packed with ideas to bursting, surprisingly constrained and one-sided detour to nowhere. (04/01/2008)

Faun's Labyrinth meets all the requirements of a quality film - a strong story, the appropriate budget, an experienced director, and a solid cast. It is exactly the kind of fantasy that I like because it doesn't trample on the most cheaply stolen motifs from Tolkien in a thousand ways, but goes its own way and combines a classic fairy tale story with a realistically conceived war drama. It is original, emotional, tense, and artistically elaborate with excellent cinematography, and the director is not afraid of even naturalistic bloody scenes and ventures into the realm of pure horror. Overall impression: 90%. The pinnacle of Guillermo del Toro's work so far, which will be difficult for the director to surpass... (01/04/2009)

Once upon a time... This unusual fairytale from Guillermo del Toro gave me much more than I expected. Pan’s Labyrinth is full of enthusiasm and love for fantasy, imagination and fairytales. The mysterious “faun-like" atmosphere alternates nicely with real life from the end of the Second World War, without taking away anything from one or the other. The acting performances are excellent and the little Ivan Baquero has my respect. She played difficult scenes amazingly and truly convincingly. The superb makeup shared hugely in conjuring up the almost horror feeling to the movie (especially the um... Pale Man was a work of genius) and I also liked the music which set a great atmosphere for the story. (05/07/2007)

A fantastic journey to the depths of a small child’s soul. A film without flaws, the more you watch it, the more you realise how perfect it is. (05/10/2007)

During this film, I felt as if Guillermo del Toro had put me on a merry-go-round. At times I found myself in the middle of a military camp suppressing a handful of rebels, and then suddenly witnessing a fairy tale fantasy full of weird creatures. It's certainly an entertaining, exciting and at times thrilling ride, but the effect visibly falters over time and there are some rusty spots, whether it's the incomprehensible brutality that must have shocked the excited younger audience a great deal, or the slight neglect and relegation of Pan and his tasks at the expense of the war, and they grow in number and my impressions were rather mixed when it was over. In any case, just for the premise and the director’s courage, I round up to ****. (23/05/2011)

La vie terrestre est triste et violente, tandis que le monde des êtres surnaturels est enchanteur et agréable ? Dans ce film, certainement pas, mais dans le monde surnaturel, vous pouvez au moins finalement obtenir justice. Pas sur terre. Ou peut-être ? Tout comme Ophélie ne peut pas accepter (même si cela semble insignifiant) l'injustice commise contre un innocent et devient ainsi elle-même une victime innocente, l'Espagne a été contrainte de devenir victime du fascisme de F. Franco pendant quatre décennies. Ophélie est récompensée pour cela dans le monde féerique. L'Espagne, dans le monde réel, semble ne pas l'être, mais il y a encore une chance - si les Espagnols n'étaient pas prêts à sacrifier les innocents pour leur bonheur, une nouvelle génération, même issue de l'horreur de la génération précédente, pourrait connaître des temps plus justes et plus libres. (28/06/2012)

Del Toro's sense of imagination is incredible. Beautiful music, on one level a wonderful fairy tale story, and overall an experience that is not easy to forget. The bizarre fascination with the ending is just the icing on the cake... (04/05/2010)