2nd time watching it after 11 years - Even Better!

Rating: 9/10 (17 September 2017)

I remember my interest in seeing this when it first came out in 2006, so I went to the big screen and saw it there and remember being blown away about how amazing this movie was. I was a bit skeptical paying for a movie that wasn't in English, and having to spend the entire time reading to understand what was happening, and while it does take away from the experience somewhat, the movie is so compelling and gripping that it does little to distract you from the incredible experience. Something triggered in my brain 11 years later that made me want to see this movie again, and I just finished watching it and now that I'm older, found that I appreciated the movie even more this time around. The mixture of fantasy, magic, war, innocence, hatred, love, and the underlying good vs. evil story really are well balanced in this film. I'd have rated it a 10, other than what I mentioned earlier about having to read the subtitles which does slightly detract from the enjoyment. I read in the trivia notes that the writer/director declined a budget of 2x to make the movie in English, so I commend him for making such an amazing film and staying true to his desire to keep it original. A great movie that if you've not seen, you are missing out.