Pan's Labyrinth is a 2006 Spanish-Mexican dark fantasy film directed by Guillermo del Toro.
Plot[]
The film begins with a tale of Princess Moanna, the daughter to the king of the underworld, who visits the human world, her memories are erased by the blinding sunlight, and later becomes mortal and dies. The King, however, knows that her spirit will eventually return to the underworld, so he builds many labyrinths that act as passages to the underworld, believing that one day she will return to him.
During the time of the rule of Fransisco Franco (1944), a young girl by the name of Ofelia and her sick pregnant mother, whose name is Carmen, travel to meet Captain Vidal, her new step-father and firm believer in Franco. They arrive, but Ofelia follows a large stick-like bug into the labyrinth, with the housekeeper Mercedes, stopping her and telling her to go back to the house. Later that evening, the bug finds her and turns into a fairy, leading her into the forest. She finds the Faun, who talks to her and believes Ofelia to be the reincarnation of Princess Moanna. He proceeds to give her a book and tells her that, if she wants to return to the underworld and be immortal again, she must complete the three tasks in the book.
Ofelia then completes the first task the next day, getting a key from a giant toad, and returns home to be ridiculed about how dirty she just got her dress for that evening. That same evening, a bunch of soldiers round up a couple of rabbit farmers and torture them for information, believing they are rebels, but once they are both dead, the man in charge of the group finds a dead rabbit and ridicules them for not looking harder. After completing the first task, the Fawn gives Ofelia a Mandrake root, and tells her to keep it in a bowl of milk, and give it blood regularly to help with her mother's condition.
Ofelia does so, which immediately helps her mother. However, Vidal finds out, deeming it to be delusional and proceeds to throw the root in the fire, causing it to die and causing Carmen to immediately start giving birth and die herself. That evening, Ofelia goes to retrieve a key from the Pale Man, but is warned not to eat any of the food and not to run out of time. Ofelia grabs the key and eats two grapes, with the Pale Man waking up and eating two of the fairies, with the last one and Ofelia barely escaping. The Fawn then ridicules her for this and refuses to give her the last task.
At this time, Vidal finds out that Mercedes is a spy and has been helping her brother Pedro and other rebels. He then finds out his doctor is also a spy after euthanizing a captured rebel who requested such a procedure be done, and has them both tortured. Mercedes stabs Vidal in a manner that won't kill him, and proceeds to join with the other rebels. Vidal sends his men out after them in an attempt to track them all down and kill them.
The Fawn then gives Ofelia another chance, and tells her to take her baby brother to the center of the labyrinth and spill his blood, as the blood of an innocent is required. Ofelia breaks out of her barricaded room, takes her baby brother, enraging Vidal, who chases after her with an intent to kill Ofelia. Ofelia meets the Fawn at the center of the labyrinth, but refuses to draw blood from her baby brother. The Fawn then becomes enraged and leaves her to stay in the mortal realm.
Ofelia then hands her infant brother back to Vidal who shoots Ofelia and kills her, causing her blood to be spilt on the altar at the bottom of the labyrinth. Vidal walks out of the labyrinth to find the rebels, to which he hands the baby to Mercedes, requesting that the baby be told about him. She then tells him that the baby won't know his name, and Pedro proceeds to shoot Vidal dead.
Mercedes kneels over and holds the motionless Ofelia, singing a lullaby that she had been taught by her mother many years ago in an attempt to comfort her, knowing that she is dead. As Ofelia's blood falls down the stairs and reaches the altar, Ofelia appears alive and well in a throne room, and is commended by the king that she had passed the final test, by spilling the blood of her own, rather than the blood of someone else. The Fawn, now addresses her as "your highness", and the Queen welcomes her to her throne and joins her father once more.
The film ends telling the end of the story of the young Princess Moanna, who returns to the underworld, and ruled for hundreds of years with justice and kindness. The tale ends by saying that she has left traces of her presence in the mortal world that can only be seen by "those who know where to look."
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