Here’s a warning about Pan’s Labyrinth: people walked out of my recent screening crying. If you only know Guillermo del Toro from Blade II and Hellboy, this December you’ll be kicked in the solar plexus and have your heart broken by a movie that’s deep, beautiful, brutal, touching and magical. Pan’s Labyrinth is the kind of movie I sit through hundreds of other movies hoping for – a film that’s deeply personal, completely transcendent and effortlessly engaging. It’s a feat of the imagination in the way that all the best fairy tales are.
The film is the natural evolution of del Toro’s Spanish language films, and it takes everything I liked about The Devil’s Backbone – previously my favorite del Toro movie, and one of my favorite “dark” movies in general – and one ups it. Pan places del Toro in a league with the timeless masters of fantastic cinema: Cronenberg, Gilliam, Miyazaki. Is it his masterpiece? I don’t know, but I’m hoping he’s able to top it, just because I’m a glutton for great films.
We’re incredibly proud to host the exclusive teaser trailer for Pan’s Labyrinth. Yes, it’s got no dialogue, which is surely trying to hide – as long as possible – the fact that the film is in Spanish. Don’t worry about a language barrier, since the acting in this film is so superb (especially Sergi López as the fascist Captain Vidal, creating an instant classic screen villain) that you almost don’t need subtitles.
Enjoy the teaser and count down the days until this film is finally released – these images are just the entrance to the labyrinth, and I think you’ll find that the best is yet to come.