Pan's Labyrinth

Rating: 8/10 (31 December 2016)

"My name is Ofelia. Who are you?" "Me? I've had so many names." Guillermo del Toro's 2006 adult fantasy/drama 'Pan's Labyrinth' is considered his greatest masterpiece. Originally intended to be a complement piece to his 2001 film 'The Devil's Backbone', 'Pan's Labyrinth' combines the backdrop of war and nightmarish fantasy with elegant beauty. The film is set in 1943 Spain, after the rise of fascism. Twelve-year-old bookish Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) and her ailing, pregnant mother (Ariadna Gil) arrive at the post of her new husband, (Sergi López), a strict and sadistic army officer of whom is trying to quell a guerrilla uprising. After the small family movies into an old house, Ofelia's only solace of the bloody, war- torn world surrounding her is in escaping to the ancient, titular labyrinth of which leads the girl to an eerie oasis of bizarre creatures, possibly hailing from one of her many stories. Ofelia then encounters the kindly and beautiful faun Pan (Doug Jones, of whom also portrays the child-eating Pale Man), of whom tells her that she is a legendary lost princess and must complete three dangerous tasks in order to claim immortality.
Beginning where it ends, 'Pan's Labyrinth' is hauntingly beautiful and darkly mysterious. And, after a decade upon its release, this Alice in Wonderland for grown-ups remains a truly fanciful and chilling delve into the imagination of a master director of whom shares his extraordinary vision with his viewers to experience with horrifying, and yet gratifying, effect.