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For those of you who were enraptured, as I was, by Guillermo Del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth", it was a special day on Tuesday, because the film was released on DVD in a two-disc set. Del Toro always provides engaging (and often academic) features on his DVDs (the Director's Cut of "Hellboy" comes to mind) and this set is no exception.

After watching the film the other night with some friends, a debate immediately broke out concerning the fantasy world of the film. My friends seemed adamant that the fantasy world is simply a figment of the young heroine's imagination - a way to escape the horrors of the real world. This, of course, must be the only explanation. That is, unless the world of fauns, labyrinths, and fairies is just as real as the world of Spain in 1944. It is a depressing reality that in this day in age we have become so skeptical that we question fantasy itself. We are obsessed with explanations and have lost the ability to believe in the undefinable and the unexplained.

There is a key moment late in "Pan's Labyrinth" when the villain, Captain Vidal, corners Ofelia, who is talking with the faun. To Vidal, it looks as if Ofelia is speaking into thin air. I suppose this is the moment on which the skepticists base their argument, but I would argue another point: Vidal cannot see the faun because he is blinded by his worldview. Ofelia, in her innocence, cannot help but see it.

If the world of fantasy is not real, if Ofelia is not the Princess Moanna, if she is not resurrected in the underworld, then the film is just another tragic look at the horrors of war. I do not believe this was Del Toro's intention.

Remember, to enter the kingdom of heaven, we have to become like children. It takes the simple faith of a child to unlock true reality, just as Ofelia's innocence gives her the eyes to see that which is hidden from those around her. Just as the spiritual realm is more real than the "real" world, the world of the Labyrinth and the underworld is more real than the world of Captain Vidal and the Spanish Civil War.













And yet the faun's world is not without its horrors. Consider a scene where Ofelia encounters the Pale Man, a gangly creature with eyes on his hands who feasts upon infants. The alternate universe, like the spiritual realm of angels and demons, is no less trecherous than our own, but it is more rich, more diverse, and more real.

If you haven't experienced "Pan's Labyrinth" yet, I highly recommend it. Though not for the faint of heart (see below), it is an engaging and rewarding journey. Just be prepared to believe...

NOTE: As for the violence in the film, which is cruel and unforgiving, there is purpose. Fairy tales are, at their essence, a contrast of the darkest of the dark and the lightest of the light. "Pan's Labyrinth" is no exception.