Trailer: Pan’s Labyrinth

Warning! This synopsis contains spoilers

Spain, 1944. Officially, the Civil War has been over for five years, but a small group of rebels fights on unbroken in the northern mountains of Navarra. Dreamy 10-year-old Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) moves to Navarra with her delicate, pregnant mother Carmen (Ariadna Gil), to become acquainted with her new stepfather, Captain Vidal (Sergi López), a Fascist officer under orders to rid the territory of rebels. Ofelia, who is fascinated by fairy tales, discovers an overgrown, tumbledown labyrinth behind the mill. In the heart of the labyrinth she meets an ancient faun (Doug Jones in an excellent characterization), who claims to know her true identity and destiny, being the princess of a fairy land where her true parents, the king and queen are awaiting her. But first, she must complete three tasks before the moon grows full. And no one must know: not her ailing mother, or her new friend, Mercedes (Maribel Verdú), a cook at Vidal’s home but who secretely supports the loser’s side, espacially because her brother is one of them. In fact, she and the doctor (Álex Angulo) try to help the rebels as much as they can. The doctor gives some of the wounded rebels medicines.

Ofelia has to kill a huge sap and pick something from its stomach. She does it, but she makes a mess of her pretty party clothes, so she is told off by Vidal. Her second task is to get something from a creature with eyes in his hands without eating or touching the feast food. Although she can’t resist temptation and eats some grapes, waking the creature up, she succeeds in getting out alive. The faun tells her off, because some fairies he had given her in a sack to help her have died off eaten by the monster because of her recklessness.

Ofelia is told to put some mandragora in a plate of milk under her mother’s bed to help her to stand her pregnancy. However, Vidal discovers Ofelia under Carmen’s bed and pulls her out violently. Also, he throws the mandragora into the fireplace. Immediately, Carmen gets into labour. A baby boy is born, but Ofelia’s mother dies.

Mercedes had given the keys of the cellar where medicines and food are kept to her brother and friends. When one of the rebels (Iván Massagué) is captured, Vidal tortures him. The doctor gives the prisoner a drug overdose, killing him so that he doesn’t suffer anymore. Vidal shoots at the doctor on the back, having the final proof that he had been supporting and helping them from the beginning.

At that moment, the rebels make a final attack. Ofelia runs to the forest and into the labyrinth with her babybrother in her arms, closely followed by Vidal, who now knows she’s helping the rebellious republicans. Ofelia stops when reaching the labyrinth, where the faun tells her to kill her brother in order the become the princess. She refuses.

Vidal sees her with the baby in her arms, talking to the air. He confronts her. He only wants the baby. She prefers dying in order to protect the baby. Vidal shoots her, leaving her for death, and picks the baby up.

When Vidal turns back, he sees Mercedes with more rebels. They take the baby from him. Vidal looks at the watch he had inherited from his father, and asks Mercedes to tell the babyboy what time he had died. Mercedes tells him the baby will never know who his father was (the baby is assumedly going to be smuggled into France to be raised up as a rebel more, with a leftish ideology, which is Vidal’s worst fear and final humiliation). The rebels kill Vidal at the moment he realises his child will be raised up as one of those people he hates so much and has killed all his life.

Then, Mercedes tries to ail Ofelia, but it’s useles: she’s dying. In her final moments, right before dying, Ofelia dreams she has succeeded: the last task was the most important one. The rightful princess had to refuse killing an innocent baby. That’s how she proved she was the real princess and can claim her right to the throne for all eternity at the fairy world, making it flourish with new energy.