There's more to the story than just the fairy tale

Rating: 10/10 (13 January 2007)

El Laberinto del Fauno is heartbreaking. It is a story about the fragility of innocence, and the ultimate helplessness all people can experience in life. While the beautifully imagined Labyrinth is the attraction in this movie, the grotesque and frightening reality of civil-war Spain makes this movie effective and memorable.
After reading about a dozen reviews of this movie, my expectations were set for something of a fantasy comparable to Ridley Scott's "Legend", the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, or even some of the more popular Disney animated films. I was very surprised (and relieved) to find that this movie was actually an adult drama and tragedy. The fairy-tale 'Labyrinth' is exactly that: just a fairy tale.
The compelling acting from all the characters in the film makes the story work as a gripping war time drama. Ivana Bequero's portrayal of Ofelia should be at least nominated for an Academy Award. She really owns this film from start to finish. Sergi Lopez, portraying Capitan Vidal gives us one of the most frightening and memorable movie villains of all time. The sadistic and abusive Vidal personifies true evil while Ofelia represents pure innocence. American actor, Doug Jones gives a quirky and bipolar performance as Pan, the faun character that guides Ofelia through three separate tasks.
This is Guillermo del Toro's definitive work. He has given us a well balanced movie where the story hits all the right points and leaves no one confused. It is a sad and frightening film, but after seeing it, most movie goers should realize that fairy tales exist because of the bitter reality behind them.