great movie, chilling yet magical

Rating: 7/10 (27 September 2010)

I originally saw Pans Labrynth in around probably 2007 when i was around 13/14 and being entirely honest it did freak me out... in a good way. I have recently watched Pans Labyrynth in its entirety, paying full attention to the significance of each scene. Watching it through again was very beneficial as i find watching this film just once does not make it clear enough, on first viewing i found the storyline slightly daunting as well as being a bit too much too take on. I can now see the effective mix of fantasy/horror/action-war film, which in some parts presented beautiful imagery and stunning shots of the forest stained in a golden sun, yet the darkness, eerie settings and chilling non-diegetic sounds. Pans Labrynth was released in the Uk of 24th November 2006, and won multiple awards for art direction, makeup and cinematography. I would describe the film as a coming-of-age fantasy horror film, it contains the elements that most interest me, horror & fantasy, but at the same time coming-of-age movies are a huge favourite for me. I believe coming of age movies like Pans Lab apply to teenagers my age, from 10-16, however the film still applies to a broader audience - with powerful and shocking depictions of civil war in spain in 1944, set against one girls (Ofelia) personal war against her adolescence and the harsh truths of reality but the ugly side of fantasy, for example the disgusting depiction of the frog hiding under a fig tree in the shape of many things, devils horns, fallopian tubes, the fauns head - all being generally negative. Even though Pans Labyrnth is a fantasy movie the general public can connect to its story of the concept of how life generally sucks sometimes and fantasy can prove to be better than reality but still has its ugly side. The film contains some controversial scenes, including a innocents mans face being beaten to a pulp by a bottle and graphic scenes of execution and mutilation. Gory scenes, including Vidal the antagonist sewing up his mouth.. as well as disturbing horror sequences such as a child-eating, pale, saggy creature with no eyes & sharp talon hands devouring fairies and chasing Ofelia, the protagonist we can connect too. I wouldn't advise children below the age of 10 to watch this film with enthusiasm. Each scene is well crafted and the amount of violence is logical as each character is crucial to the plot and each character rarely lives through the entire movie. But the actions of each character are understandable. The film is brutal and incredibly deep yet beautifully put together, flowing from one hellish task to the next other-worldly battle that the heroine Ofelia must face while we witness her coming of age as well as the type of person she really is, a lonely girl, escaping this world in her books. Subtitles shouldn't even be an excuse to not see this movie as by the end i found i myself had forgotten about the subtitles and even picked up on a little Spanish throughout the film. I recommend this movie to any soul interested in other-worldly fantasy adventures, brutally yet beautifully shot in a backdrop of vice, an enchanting coming-of-age story.