Beatuful Fantasy Film

Rating: 10/10 (6 June 2009)

Pan's Labyrinth, since as one of the best films in 2006 by critics and cinema fans alike and they do have a point. A film made with love and imagination. Easily the best film I seen by the top Mexican director Guillermo del Toro.
Set in 1944 during the Franco Regime of Spain, 10-year-old Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) and her heavily pregnant mother Camern (Ariadna Gil) move to Spanish countryside. Camern's new husband, Captain Vidal (Sergi López i Ayats) who was leading a campaign as a guerrilla force. He wanted his wife there for the birth of his child, despite fact she was ill during the pregnancy. Ofelia is a lonely child, she dislikes the Captain who wants her to call him father and only cares abouts his seed. He is also a brutal commander against the guerrillas, who was very willing to use torture and stave them out. She ends up befriending a servant, Mercedes (Maribel Verdú), who happens to be a guerrilla spy. Ofelia was a girl who liked to read fairy tales and believed in them. She reads on where the Princess of the Underworlds goes to the Real World, but ends up loosing her memory and dies. The King however believed that his daughter's spirit was still alive and would return to him. One night Ofelia goes to an old labyrinth need the house and discovers a Faun (Doug Jones). He believes Ofelia was Princess Moanna and tell her that the King was waiting for her. He sets Ofelia to complete 3 tasks that needed to be done for the next full moon. On this quest she encounters strange creatures, magical tools and dangers and has a book that can predict her future.
This is a film of wonderful designs of creatures and sets. It has a great mix of realistic settings and ideas like the guerrilla warfare to the magical world Ofelia has to embark appond. There is a great mix of make-up, CGI and puppets. Del Toro is a man with a wonderful imagination.
The story and characters are strong and compelling. You care about what happens and has a mix of child-like wonder to the harsh realist of the real world. There are homages to other wonderful films and books like The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the Wizard of Oz, Spirited Away and Alice in Wonderland, as well as fairy tales. There are even some direct homages, such as Ofelina's dress. There are numerous sub-plots which end up interlinking with the story and all easy enough to follow.
Pan's Labyrinth is also dark, violence and pretty scary, it is not a film for young children. Because of the engaging character of Ofelina you end up fearing for her. Also the Pale Man is a really horrible looking creature and if you have a phobia of eyes like me, then it's unpleasant.
The acting is excellent, especially by the young actress Ivana Baquero who should have a great career ahead of her. Del Toro is a wonderful at casting.
If you can not tell, Del Toro's direction was magnificent. He hands the story so well, mixing all it elements with skill. This is type of film he needs to do more of.
Pan's Labyrinth is a wonderful dark fairy tale for the modern age.