Pan's Labyrinth: Realism or formalism?

The design of a movie set can communicate a great deal of information about the theme and characters in a film. Set design; the location, costumes, decor and all other visual effects, tends to impact the viewer on a subconscious level and is also useful for classifying a film as either realist or formalist. Although all sets lean toward one style or the other, most sets are a blend of both.
   Pan's Labyrinth, from Guillermo del Toro uses the realistic setting of Fascist controlled central Spain in the 1940's as a backdrop for an elaborate fantasy film. Ofelia, a young girl fascinated by fairy tales, encounters a strange insect in the forest. Following it, she dicovers an abandoned labyrinth inhabited by fantastic creatures that only she can see. Encountering a fuan who tells her she is the long lost princess of the underworld, she is given three tasks to perform to demonstrate her worthiness. Her struggle to fulfill these tasks and achieve her birthright are the central theme of the film. The sets in the various scenes serve to illustrate the differences between the two worlds she inhabits.
 The harsh world where Ofelia and her pregnant mother live in the daytime is exemplified by the military camp where they live, surrounded by armed soldiers commanded by her ruthless stepfather - a stark contrast to the fantasy world she escapes to at night. The abandoned labyrinth and the dark woodland suggest elements of mystery by themselves. The array of mythological creatures she encounters within, insects that become fairies, a fuan who gives her tasks to perform, a giant toad and the Book of Crossroads she is given, all border on the fantastic. Many of the fantasy characters were created using nothing but costume design and makeup, with minimal special effects. The action in the final scenes uses set design to reinforce the difference between fantasy and reality on a symbolic level.Tragedy in the squalid labyrinth of the real world is offset by triumph in an ethereal castle in the fantasy world.
   I found this film surprisingly enjoyable. The skillful blend of the mundane and the fantastic along with its use of an authentic (if little known) historical backdrop reminded me of a darker version of "Alice in Wonderland. Thumbs up.