Cannes Q&A: Pan's Labyrinth

By M&C News May 28, 2006, 10:25 GMT

Ariadna Gil, Sergi Lopez, Guillermo Del Toro, Maribel Verdu and Ivana Baquero on the Red Carpet at Cannes © AFP

The next-to-last film presented in competition at the 59th Festival de Cannes, ‘Pan's Labyrinth’ marks the second appearance of Guillermo del Toro on the Croisette.

In 1993 he had come with ‘Cronos,’ his first feature film, which screened in a parallel section. With ‘Pan's Labyrinth,’ this director of Mexican origin explores once more the cinema of horror and fantasy, his favorite genre, after ‘Mimic’ (1997), ‘The Devil's Backbone’ (2001), ‘Blade 2’ (2002) and ‘Hellboy’ (2004).

Spain 1944. The civil war has been over for 5 years. Carmen, recently remarried, settles down with her daughter Ofélia in the home of her new husband, the highly domineering Vidal, captain in the pro-Franco army.

While the little girl struggles to get used to her new life, she discovers nearby the great family house a mysterious labyrinth.

Pan, its faithful guardian, a strange magic and demonic creature, will reveal to her that she is none other than the princess who long ago disappeared from an enchanted realm. To discover the truth, Ofélia will have to face three dangerous trials that nothing on earth has prepared her for...

“‘Pan's Labyrinth’, explains Guillermo del Toro, "unfurls during the middle of the pro-Franco period, and thus deals with fascism - its very essence. Not directly so, but rather horizontally, somewhat coded, as I like films which make people think.

For me, fascism is a representation of the ultimate horror and it is, in this sense, an ideal concept through which to tell a fairy tale aimed at adults.

Because fascism is first and foremost a form of perversion of innocence, and thus of childhood.

It is moreover for that reason that the real "monster" is Captain Vidal. A monster all too real compared with those who reside within the labyrinth. Fascism consumes you drop by drop, not necessarily physically but at least spiritually.

This idea was already to be found in The Devil's Backbone, but I think I handled it far better in Pan's Labyrinth, which is an even darker, more complex and metaphoric film."
 
Director Guillermo del Toro, producer Alfonso Cuaron and actors Sergi Lopez, Ivana Baquero, Maribel Verdu and Ariadna Gil faced the international press to answer questions.

Highlights:.

Guillermo Del Toro at Cannes Press Conference © AFP

Guillermo del Toro on the project's preparations: "At the outset, this film was part of ‘The Devil's Backbone.’ Then I wound up ‘Hellboy’ and began to rewrite this story as a fable.

It was a highly complex story, and I had to get the right balance between imagination and reality as well. That was especially important to me.

Among all my films, it is ‘Pan's Labyrinth’ that I prefer after ‘The Devil's Backbone,’ because the film resembles exactly what I hoped to make."

Guillermo del Toro on the film genre: "For me, ‘The Devil's Backbone’ or ‘Cronos’ were more genre films. On the other hand ‘Pan's Labyrinth’ is something entirely different: it isn't a horror film even if it employs certain elements of horror and fairy tales." 

Guillermo del Toro on fantasy cinema: "It's a genre which has always been opposed to the more prestigious ones. But for me, the most striking images in history of motion pictures come from the fantastic: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ by Cocteau, ‘Nosferatu’ by Murnau or ‘The Mask of the Demon’ by Mario Bava are truly unforgettable.

But at the moment of the award ceremony, it is always more difficult to convince. The 'fantastic' is a creation more easily recognized in the field of painting. But when we turn to motion pictures, it's difficult to accept that it can give rise to a quality film."

Guillermo del Toro on his sources of inspirations: "The colours and anxiety in the paintings of Goya served as inspiration for me. I don't try to reproduce them in my film but, at a given point, when we see the pale man and the paintings in the room where he is, this echoes the painting of Saturn devouring his own children."

Guillermo Del Toro and Sergi Lopez at Cannes © AFP

Sergi Lopez on the role of the Captain Vidal: "When a screenplay and dialogues are well written, when the story takes us by the hand, and when the role is well defined, it's rather easy to build characters.

We also worked with an army friend who gave us some tips. It was very enjoyable playing this character. It was like playing the big bad wolf in 'Little Red Riding Hood'".

Guillermo del Toro on Mexican film heritage: "The generation which preceded us in the 70s, which I shall call the 'lost generation', taught us everything. They were the generation who couldn't make movies because this was scoffed at as no more than marginal work. But they liked the idea of a film which tells stories."

Guillermo del Toro on the shoot: "The shoot was highly stressful, I lost 3 kilos a week. Fortunately, the entire crew was tops. We only had 12 weeks to prepare concretely what I had initially sketched. We worked day and night. I wanted audiences to believe that the film cost upwards of 30 or 40 million dollars, while in reality it cost us barely one-third of that."

Guillermo del Toro on the character of Ofélia: "Ofélia is for me the bravest character in the whole film. It is necessary to have courage to be a child because you're constantly being told what to do and what to think. She steps into this fantastic world to face the real world, not to flee it."

Guillermo del Toro on the connection with Latin America: "I've always been rather difficult to pigeon-hole, whether it was in Spain, Mexico or even the United States. There are roots that I shall always keep, and my profession as director. I believe that a filmmaker has to have the freedom to do what he wants, and speak about what he knows. You need to keep one foot on either side of the Atlantic to remain both independent and free."

© Festival de Cannes