Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Rating: 9/10 (23 December 2019)

Directed by Guillermo Del Toro. Starring Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Ivana Baquero, Ariadna Gil, Álex Angulo, Manolo Solo, Doug Jones, Ivan Massagué, Roger Casamajor, César Vea, (voice) Pablo Adán. (R)
Trapped in war-torn Spain during the mid-40s with a sickly and pregnant mother (Gil) and a sadistic Francoist captain stepfather (López), young Baquero retreats from the horrors of real life into a fantasy world with threats and terrors of its own. Del Toro's adult fairy tale parable is supremely atmospheric and imaginative, filled with vividly mysterious locations, beautifully monstrous creatures, and a magic spell cast with palpable, skin-crawling physicality rather than the ethereal elusiveness that often colors such flights of fancy. His most impressive feat, however, is the ease with which he weaves the otherworldy elements into the central narrative conflict of anarcho-communist rebels fighting against fascist rule; either side of reality could have easily been cheapened, but the careful parallels and intertwining action form a remarkable symbiosis contained by the barriers of the fable. Dark and sometimes graphically violent, it is not a fantasy for children (unless they are especially stalwart), but the compelling storylines, fine performances, and glorious visuals should make all but the most hardhearted and cynical adults believe in fairies just as much as the open-eyed heroine.
90/100