Two incomplete films

Rating: 3/10 (7 January 2007)

An extraordinary effort all for naught. The script presents us with two stories that are compelling in their own right, but when combined here are incomplete and ultimately unsatisfying. The story about the Spanish authorities tracking down guerrilla rebels is fine, although the brutal act of the Captain in charge are almost too much to be believed (his comeuppance at the hands of his maid is still a high point). The supernatural elements add nothing to this story. Ofelia's journey to regain her underworld throne has nothing to do with the activities of the Franco government, or her mother's marriage to the Captain. The ending makes both of these points more than clear.
Del Toro would have served his audience better to have made two separate films from the elements he created, giving himself a chance to refine the characters and situations in each story. As it is, everything here seems arbitrary, and a bit over the top, and unconnected.