A grim and magical story of a young girl

Rating: 9/10 (24 November 2016)

When movies are very good—especially foreign language movies—I like to see them twice to fill in plot details the second time, after basically reading subtitles the first time. So, when it came to our local theater, I watched it twice—consecutively—and I think it was well worth the time to pay for it once and see it twice. It is nominated for Best Foreign Language Film (from Mexico) although it was filmed in Spain, about Spain, with an all-Spanish cast (with the brilliant exceptions of Mexican director and screenwriter, del Toro and American actor Doug Jones who plays both Pan (the fawn) and the pale man.
The movie tells a grim and magical story of a young girl, Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), who is forced to move to rural Spain in 1944 after the Spanish Civil War in which her father had been killed while fighting against Franco. As the movie begins, Ofelia and her pregnant mother are traveling to a rural outpost to join her mother's second husband, Capitán Vidal (Sergi López). Vidal is one of Franco's officers who is posted at the outpost to command and control the heavy resistance still being waged by anti-Franco forces.
Ofelia's mother is having a troubled pregnancy and is forced to spend most of her time in bed. Ofelia has no children her age to play with but is cared for by Vidal's housekeeper, Mercedes (Maribel Verdú). Most importantly, Ophelia is emerged in her books of magical fairy tales: her real surroundings are so brutal that her imagination easily takes her to living in her fairy tale world.
The movie takes us back and forth between the real world around Ophelia and the imaginary one that she had created. Both can be dark and treacherous. However, the only one that she has any control over is her imaginary one. So, she is devoted to the missions in that world.
Ophelia 'enters' the imaginary world through a maze-like labyrinth (suggested by the ruins of an old mill on the outpost). But once she enters, she can easily get lost without guidance and instructions. Her guide is a giant fawn, Pan (Doug Jones), who instructs her how to open doors, find creatures, and confront them. Pan also instructs her what tasks to carry out as well as what dangers to be aware of in her endeavors.
Ophelia is given three critical tasks to be carried out by a certain time and according to Pan's rules. Breaking the rules could lead to catastrophe, but she must make her own choices too. To help her carry out her quests, she is given small dragonfly-like fairies to guide her. The fairies are not only her friends but they help point out possible problems with their gestures and reactions.
Interspersed with these quests, we see Ophelia's life in the real world. Her stepfather is brutal and sadistic. Before questioning someone, he often gives a prelude in which he brandishes his instruments of torture. However, just as Ophelia is given choices in her imaginary world, so too are the adults in the real world. They can fight, resist, give in, or not respond to threats and pay the consequences.
This movie is well-conceived and presented. Also, the artwork and special effects are remarkable. However, it really isn't fit for children in spite of its fairy tale themes. Ophelia's imaginary world is no more scary or dark than what we might see in a good Harry Potter movie—a hug toad throwing up a ball of mucus to find a sticky hidden key, etc. However, the adult world is TOO real and violent for innocent children and some adults. Still, both real and the imaginary worlds must exist together to make the movie effective: the movie is conceived as an interplay between the two worlds, so you can't have one without the other. What we are left with is a good movie with audience limitations. It's a dilemma, but there you have it...