In Guillermo del Toro's painting “The Labyrinth of the Faun”, the actors play a dramatic plot simultaneously in several planes: fabulous and real. The Mexican director’s film received three Oscars. What is he talking about?
Ivan Bakero as Ophelia
The film Guillermo del Toro shows 1944, when Spain, like the rest of the world, survived the Second World War and was under the dictates of Francisco Franco. A civil war is going on in the country, but the little girl Ophelia, played by Ivan Bakero, understands little. The only thing she feels is that she interferes with her native mother, and her stepfather does not love her at all.
One night, a fairy arrives at Ophelia, who feels lonely. She calls the girl behind her, lures into a strange maze. There Faun comes to Ophelia and informs that in fact the girl is a princess. And she can return to the magical world to her loving father-king, but for this you need to complete several tasks.
The last test for Ophelia is the need to sacrifice her brother that she refuses to do this. It seems that the test is lost, but no - that is what the real princess should have done. Ophelia dies in the real world, but is reborn in the fabulous and continues to live.
Labyrinth of the Faun: actors
Actor Doug Jones is known to the audience for his roles in the films "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Fantastic Four-2." He played a fairy-tale hero in the film "Labyrinth of the Faun."
Actors Doug Jones and Ivan Bakero, or rather their screen characters, first meet when the fairy takes Ophelia to the mill. The Faun finds the girl in a stone labyrinth and informs her that she must return home to her father-king in the fairy kingdom. But to confirm that she is a real princess, Ophelia must pass three tests. Every night, Faun appears in front of her and gives new tasks. In the latter, he demands that Ophelia give him to kill her baby brother, but the girl refuses to do so. For such a sacrifice, Faun rewards the princess and takes her to that fairy-tale world that was created for her.
S. Lopez as Captain Vidal
The role of the formidable, cruel captain was played by Sergi Lopez. On behalf of the dictator, Franco Vidal leads a fierce struggle with the partisans. One day he arrives with his wife and adopted daughter Ophelia in one province, where the partisan movement is the most fierce.
There are several serious skirmishes between the people of Vidal and the partisans. Enemies act boldly and dare to rob a barn in the captain’s house. But he overtakes them, takes a prisoner for torture. When Vidal's personal doctor refuses to take part in the abuses and kills the unfortunate, the captain begins to realize that there are only traitors around, and he fell into a trap. Since then, he has been suspicious of everyone.
Soon, Vidal's wife dies, leaving him a little son. One night, the captain wakes up and sees that his adopted daughter Ophelia takes the child to a stone labyrinth near the mill. When he catches up with a girl, he kills her with a shot in the stomach. But when Vidal leaves the labyrinth, partisans destroy him.
Ariadne Gil as Carmen
In the film “The Labyrinth of Faun”, the actors Ariadne Gil and Sergi Lopez play a married couple.
Captain Vidal married Carmen only to give her a son. He does not feel any warm feelings for a woman, and even more so for her daughter. Carmen is ready to do everything to please Vidal. At the same time, she does not really consider the interests of her own daughter. A woman manages to give birth to a captain, but immediately after giving birth, she has a blood throat, and she dies.
Ariadne Gil, who performed the role of Carmen, is a very famous Spanish actress. In 1992, her play in the Oscar-winning film Graceful Epoch was awarded the Goya Prize. In 2002, Ariadne starred in the film by Sergei Bodrov Sr. "Bear Kiss." The last film with the participation of the actress is the Spanish film 2013 "Easy to live with eyes closed."
Other role performers
Maribel Verdu in the film “The Labyrinth of the Faun” got the role of Mercedes - a maid in the house of Captain Vidal, who was secretly associated with the Spanish partisans. The actress, like Ariadne Gil, starred in the 1992 Grace Era movie in 1992. In 2001, Maribel played in the movie Alfonso Cuarona ("Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"), "And Your Mom, too." Verda can also be seen in Pablo Berger’s fairy tale Snow White and in the thriller End of the World.
Actor Alex Angulo played the role of Dr. Ferreiro, who sympathized with the partisans and actually gave his life for one of them. And Federico Luppi played the role of a fairy-tale king, looking for his princess daughter. Federico Luppi appeared not only in Guillermo del Toro's Labyrinth of the Faun, but also in his films Chronos and The Devil's Ridge
Also in the film you can see Roger Casamayor (“Brown bread”), Jose Luis Torrijo (“Devil's Ridge”) and Fernando Thielve (“Unmade Beds”).