CANNES, France (AP) 鈥� Twenty years ago, premiered 鈥淧an鈥檚 Labyrinth鈥� at the . He went in anxious. It was toward the end of the festival and many journalists had left. The movie鈥檚 production had been a nightmare.
Then the audience gave it a 22-minute standing ovation, the longest in Cannes history.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a commute,鈥� joked del Toro. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 about what it takes me to get from home to the office. Alfonso Cuaron, who made this movie with me as producer, turned to me at some point and said, 鈥楲et it in. Relax.鈥� I was very tense. I鈥檓 not very good with praise.鈥�
Del Toro returned to Cannes on Tuesday to screen a restoration of one of his most beloved films. Shortly beforehand, he met a reporter for an interview at a hotel on the Croisette, a few steps away from where his filmmaking life changed two decades ago.
A lush fairy tale set against 1944 Francoist Spain, 鈥淧an’s Labyrinth鈥� is about the young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) who has come with her mother to stay with her new fascist stepfather, Captain Vidal (Sergi L贸pez). Taking place largely in the northern Spain, it’s Del Toro at his earthiest and most imaginative.
Books become alive when held. Doors manifest out of a chalk outline. And creatures 鈥� fairies, a faun, the unforgettable Pale Man, with eyes in the palms of his hands 鈥� reveal a world of deeper and darker enchantment.
A pivot point for del Toro
Del Toro, who has since made and grants that he wouldn鈥檛 have become the filmmaker he is today if he hadn鈥檛 made 鈥淧an鈥檚 Labyrinth.鈥� At the time, he was the well-regarded but not well-known filmmaker of 鈥淗ellboy鈥� and 鈥淏lade 2.鈥�
鈥淚 was getting all the Marvel offers from Avi Arad. It was a real choice to go make the movie no one wanted to finance,鈥� del Toro says. 鈥淚t was one of the few times in my life that I made a choice. And I made it over and over again because everything that could go wrong went wrong, every door that could have slammed in my face, slammed in my face.鈥�
Del Toro made 鈥淧an鈥檚 Labyrinth,鈥� which Cineverse and Fathom Entertainment will rerelease in theaters Oct. 9, for $19.5 million 鈥� the same budget for his best picture-winning 鈥淭he Shape of Water.鈥� But just after del Toro moved his family to Spain for the shoot, a major financier pulled out.
鈥淚 said: I鈥檓 staying. We鈥檙e going to make this movie,鈥� the filmmaker recalls.
Forest fires in Spain were another complication. Verdant and magical as the forest is in 鈥淧an’s Labyrinth,鈥� it took months of irrigation to bring it to life. 鈥淓very lush tree you see, we made lush,鈥� says del Toro. 鈥淓very fern we planted.鈥�
The iconic tree of the film, though, was the work of Eugenio Caballero’s art design. Del Toro has long been renown for his textured artistry, but 鈥淧an’s Labyrinth鈥� includes some of his most memorable creations. At a time when artificial intelligence is making inroads into moviemaking, the movie’s handcrafted beauty stands out all the more.
鈥淚 think people intrinsically know when you鈥檝e made an effort,鈥� says del Toro. 鈥淭hey sense that it鈥檚 important to you in the craftsmanship. We don鈥檛 only go to movies to see the world. We go to see a world we don鈥檛 recognize. The more the design is something you haven鈥檛 seen before, that was made by hand, you can sense it.鈥�
鈥淰irtual filmmaking to me is not as interesting,鈥� he adds. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not courting an accident. You鈥檙e not courting humanity.鈥�
Growing up with 鈥楶an鈥檚 Labyrinth’
Nothing is more human in 鈥淧an’s Labyrinth鈥� than its young protagonist. Baquero was just 11 when she shot the film, but del Toro calls her 鈥渢he most mature actor I’ve ever directed.鈥� Baquero, now 31, also came to Cannes for the screening.
鈥淒uring the audition process, he didn鈥檛 baby me,鈥� says Baquero. 鈥淗e treated me like an adult. He gave me a lot of homework. He gave me a lot of movie references, some of which were 鈥� like 鈥楪rave of Fireflies鈥� 鈥� very dark.鈥�
鈥淧an’s Labyrinth,鈥� an R-rated fable with bloody spurts of violence, isn’t quite for children. But Baquero was shielded from none of its cruelties. She grew up with 鈥淧an’s Labyrinth.鈥�
鈥淚 can enjoy more and more as time goes by,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 can distance myself from being in the movie and watch it with different eyes. I almost don鈥檛 see myself as that girl anymore. I do, but it was 20 years ago.鈥�
After its Cannes premiere, 鈥淧an’s Labyrinth鈥� was hailed as a masterpiece and went on to land six Oscar nominations, winning three (for cinematography, art direction and makeup). But del Toro calls his experience screening the movie for Stephen King 鈥渕y Oscar.鈥� He traveled up to Maine, carrying his film reels, to show it to the author he grew up revering. 鈥淭he Pale Man had him squirming big time,鈥� del Toro says.
In 鈥淧an’s Labyrinth,鈥� there are hidden, eternal forces underground that outlast the evil scourges that might trod above. There is magic in the world, but you have to know where to look. Two decades later, del Toro still believes that.
鈥淚 have experienced it in the real world. Not fauns and pale men and ferries,鈥� he says, chuckling. 鈥淏ut I find that when your will lines up with the life stream of the cosmos, you see things that happen that are tremendous. When you swim against the life stream, things go wrong.鈥�
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