Pan's Labyrinth (subtitled)
By Cory Peynado, Blockbuster.co.uk

“A long time ago, in the underground realm, where there are no lies or pain, there lived a Princess who dreamed of the human world”

Movie fans (myself included) may not have noticed it but we're much more selfish now when it comes to what we watch. With such a huge selection of multimedia entertainment available today, investing our time in front of a t.v. or a cinema screen demands quality and I say this because director Guillermo del Toro has produced a film that has earned the right to have our utmost attention.

I was skeptical about this movie at first, sitting down to watch it thinking it would be something for the age twelve’s and unders but it only took twenty minutes for those words to be slapped right back into my mouth. The movie in fact carries a very adult theme. Some of the more graphic scenes are also quite strong, giving us a real sense of the brutal and harsh realities of war itself.

Its set in 1944 and young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) has traveled with her pregnant mother Carmen (Ariadna Gil) from the city to the countryside where they are to live with Carmen's new husband, Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez). He's a very stern and very unforgiving military man assigned to round up, interrogate and basically kill groups of rebel guerillas, and his only interest is in his unborn child that Carmen is carrying, not Ofelia.

After meeting housekeeper Mercedes (Maribel Verdu) and attending physician Dr. Ferreiro (Alex Angulo), Ofelia ends up escaping into a fantasy world whose entrance is in an adjacent abandoned garden. There, she meets the towering faun Pan (Doug Jones) who believes her to be his land's long-lost princess. He gives her three tasks to prove whether she is, quests that challenge her intelligence, her ability to follow directions, and her courage. As Vidal continues his campaign of killing the rebels, Ofelia must not only contend with the repercussions of that, but also the challenges that lie ahead of her in Pan's mysterious and sometimes deadly Labyrinth.

“My mother told me to be wary of Fauns”

One of the most enchanting aspects of this film (and I have to be selective because there are so many) is its perfectly seamless blend of fantasy and realism. Pinning it down to just one genre almost feels like it wouldn’t be fair. There is a strong and vicious aspect of war in the story and the toll it has taken on its many victims, and then there’s Ofelia, a lovely young girl who enjoys reading fairy tales and seeks comfort from her wonderful imagination. Two elements that you would not usually put together but after seeing some of these cruel scenes I found myself actually wanting to escape to this land of enchantment that Ofelia was visiting.

You will find it very easy to quickly become involved and invested in the story because the characters are just so passionate and true to life. It's a magnificent and fulfilling journey with more depth and a more thought provoking ending than anything else I’ve seen in years (and I’ve seen a lot) It just doesn’t fail in any area at all. Also visually, it’s an artistic stroke of genius, showing us characters and places that really should not look so real, and they remind us of how far we would go if our imagination was all that was left to comfort us.

Performances are dazzling, despite it being a subtitled film the warmth tended to come from what was not said… and I think this is how the film has managed to hit such a note with audiences around the world. You must see this, even if you’re not a fan of foreign movies, heck, even if you’re not a movie fan! Watch it and see first hand what everyone else is talking about.

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