The Great Ganesha

?[From my Thirsty article]

You may read elsewhere that this movie is categorized as a drama, a thriller, a fantasy film or even science fiction, but one crucial component is left out from all these labels ? political film. Guillermo Del Toro creates the perfect vehicle for political propaganda by creating a child protagonist at the center of the film. We see the entire movie through the eyes of a little girl, and her pure emotions color everything into black and white - into good and evil. The film is made so well, that the task of taking sides becomes easy. Of course, life is never that simple. And perhaps this is less a political film, and more a fairy tale. Or perhaps it?s the other way around. You be the judge.

In post-Civil War Spain, in 1944, a little girl, Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), the daughter of a widowed tailor, moves from the city to the countryside with her mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil), to live with her step-father, the despotic and sadistic Captain Vidal, played to evil perfection by Sergi L?pez. The army has been posted at this remote location in the mountains to eliminate cells of the Republican militia that have been gaining some momentum there. Ofelia?s mother is pregnant with Vidal?s child, and she has come there to deliver the baby. Vidal shows distaste for Ofelia at their first meeting itself ? while he needs her mother to bear his offspring, he has little or no desire for her. The autocratic Vidal, we learn early on in the film, shoots first and asks questions later. He will destroy anything that gets in the way of what he wants, including Ofelia, and he makes no attempt to hide it.

Sergi L?pez as the ominous Captain Vidal

With her sick mother and domineering step-father, Ofelia is mostly left to her own devises. When she discovers a small maze on the premises, her obsession for fairy tales and her vivid imagination lead her to a faun at its center. This faun tells her she is a lost princess and can reclaim her title if she opens a portal (a series of spiral groves at the base of the labyrinth), which can only be done by completing a series of tasks. While Ofelia is busy completing her tasks, Captail Vidal is busy hunting down Republican rebels and her mother is getting increasingly sick as she gets closer to her pregnancy. The story mainly follows these two extremes of innocence ? Vidal, who is devoid of any mercy or emotions, and Ofelia, a child, who is totally immersed in her emotions. As Vidal gets more merciless in hunting down the rebels, Ofelia goes deeper into her imaginary world, losing herself to the faun, the fairies and her mission. The question then becomes which one is more real? Vidal?s world or Ofelia?s?

Del Toro and Doug Jones

With one of the most imaginative uses of magical realism Del Toro creates a visual feast for the eyes. The colors, the texture and the characters themselves are enough to keep you entertained throughout the film. Even the most hardened of cynics will find it hard not to get enchanted with Ofelia?s world, and Del Toro?s creation. You hear its haunting theme (Mercedes? lullaby) long after the ending credits. Along the lines of Miyazhaki?s Spirited Away, its auteur asks not whether the magic is real or not -this is not the issue- but which world is more interesting and thus, more real to you.