The Best Adult Fantasy Film Carries The Irony of a Child Lead

Rating: 10/10 (1 April 2010)

This movie can't be classified as an 'adult' fantasy per se, but more of a mature fantasy film for the family to enjoy, so long as there is parental guidance. The movie is a brilliant take on depicting how a young girl, on the brink of childhood and becoming a young lady, escapes her mundane, and at times depressing, life into the world of the immaterial and, more importantly, a role of self-importance in the grander scheme of things. The film unfolds from a strong fantasy opening and fades into a dark realism as Ofelia grows and learns that the most horrifying monsters are not in her imagination, but in the world around her as her hideously deranged step-father takes her and her mother on a paranoid downward spiral as they all await the arrival of a baby. Javier Navarrete's musical score is lush and never once out of place. The buildup of his masterpiece becomes an audible poem that vibrantly completes the climax and finale of the film. A must have for those who cherish coming-of-age and provocative films.