Ofelia will always be my hero

Rating: 10/10 (2 February 2017)

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Pan's Labyrinth is a movie about a young Spanish girl, Ofelia, who is moving with her mother, Carmen, to her new step-fathers house. Her step- father, Vidal, just happens to be a captain who is determined to hunt down and rid the world of the rest of the anti-Franco rebels. Upon arriving, Ofelia discovers the labyrinth and has no idea just what she's truly in for. Before getting to explore too far, Mercedes (Vidal's cook/assistant), interrupts her and takes her back to the house. Later, once everyone is in bed and asleep, a fairy visits Ofelia to take her back to the labyrinth where she meets a mysterious faun, who technically doesn't have a name, who claims she is a princess of the Underworld and tells her in order for her to escape the harsh real world, she must complete three tasks to ensure her essence is still in-tact and that she hasn't turned mortal.
Ofelia just wants to escape the real world and live happily with her mother where they don't have to worry about anyone but they are stuck living with the Captain who only cares about having a son prodigy. Ofelia believes that she could give them a better life by completing the tasks provided by the faun until things turn bad. Once Carmen becomes sick, Ofelia doesn't complete the task so the faun pays her a visit who seems extremely upset that she failed. After the faun gives her another chance, she encounters the Pale Man, who is no one to be messed with.
Throughout the movie you notice the theme being good vs. evil. Dark vs. light.
The editing of this film is immaculate. Throughout the scenes, you can notice the theme even when nothing is being said and nothing is happening. At one point, Ofelia is getting ready to get a bath and she is sitting on the side of the tub reading the book that the faun gave her; the light is bright and round, it's soft colors and smooth. When it comes to Vidal, suddenly things become sharper and duller. The editing also continues with the mood of the scene. In the end, when Vidal's empire is falling to pieces and Ofelia is trying to escape with the baby, it's dark and gloomy. The details in the movie draw you in and attach you to the characters so you feel as if you're a part of it and you become emotionally attached. So when the Captain in chasing after Ofelia, you begin to panic. You know something bad is going to happen since everywhere you look it's dark and the music is suspenseful. You heart beats faster and faster as Vidal catches up to Ofelia and his new son in her arms. At that moment, Ofelia has a choice to either give her baby brother over to the faun to open the portal for her to the underworld or the give him to Vidal but instead she sacrifices herself. The Captain takes the baby and shoots Ofelia in the stomach and then tries to run away. In the midst of his getaway, he is stopped by Mercedes and her brother, who is an anti-Franco rebel, and his army. Vidal accepted defeat when he handed over the baby to Mercedes but even in the end he tried to convince Mercedes to tell his son how he died and Mercedes interrupts him to tell him that he will never even know his father's name before her brother Pedro shot him in the cheek. Mercedes runs to Ofelia's motionless body and even in this dark and heartbreaking moment, you notice Ofelia give a slight smile and then it shows her with her real father, King of the Underworld, and her mother in their kingdom. The faun appears and explains that it was all just a test and she made the right choice by not giving up her brother.
Vidal was the evil in this movie. From the horror scenes of him smashing in an innocent man's face with a bottle and killing his father to torturing an anti-Franco rebel for multiple days. Ofelia was the good. She tried to keep her mother alive with a mandrake root from the faun that Vidal ended up destroying. Ofelia knew about Mercedes lies but kept them a secret because she knew Mercedes would be killed if the Captain found out.
Most people cannot enjoy this movie due to its violence, brutality, and lack of a happy ending but it is because of those reasons that I love this movie. Pan's Labyrinth is not just another cliché fairy tale. It is unique and has a strong story with an emotional pull. The mix of reality and magical world is amazing. I have seen this movie what feels like a million times and it will never get old.