A war movie with a fantastical twist as little Ophelia tries to cope with her new situation

Rating: 10/10 (9 January 2007)

Pan's Labyrith, a Spanish language film with English subtitles, is a beautiful movie that explores the brutality of man and the beauty of the fantastic. It is one of the rare 'creature' movies where the brutality and the inhuman actions throughout the movie are perpetrated by the humans in the film, not the creatures. The portrayal of the fascist captain, Ophelia's step father is dead on with history as I know it in that he shows a certain apathy for humanity, seeing people merely as enemies and allies. Not even his wife or step daughter are really seen in an affectionate light by him. The only thing he cares about is his son, seeing his bloodline and memory passed on and it tickled me when he got his just desserts.