Pan's Labyrinth

A closer look at the story

In 1944, with Spain's civil war officially over but fighting still going on in the mountains, ten-year-old Ofelia and her pregnant mother Carmen move to the outpost commanded by her stepfather, Captain Vidal, a harsh officer charged with hunting down the remaining rebels. Escaping into her imagination, Ofelia discovers an ancient labyrinth near the house. There a faun tells her she may be the lost princess of a kingdom beneath the earth, but to prove it she has to get through several dangerous trials. Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, the 2006 film stars Ivana Baquero, Sergi López and Maribel Verdú and weaves the brutality of war together with a dark fable.