Beautiful masterpiece that restores my faith in film

Rating: 10/10 (10 August 2012)

Guillermo del Toro has created a masterpiece that has not only re-energised my love for film, but made me realise that films are, first and foremost, the telling of a story.
Despite its story of a girl discovering a secret world, Pan's Labyrinth is an adult movie, and this fact should not be taken lightly. Whilst there are fantastical elements, the film is set during the Spanish Civil War, and contains some shockingly dark scenes that genuinely frightened and unnerved me for some time, fully unveiling humanity at its darkest. This is not a film to be seen by children, so take the 15 rating seriously.
Pan's Labyrinth tells two story's parallel to each other. One tells the story of the young protagonist, Ofelia, living with her violent and authoritative step-father alongside her pregnant mother, the other about Ofelia accepting a number of tasks given by a fawn to prove she is the re-born princess of a hidden fantastical world. Neither world feels more realistic than the other, the scenes set in the 'real' world focusing on the theme of human nature at its darkest, the fantastical world presenting terrifying creatures through incredibly realistic means, the film presenting some of the best makeup and special effects I have ever seen. The costumes and makeup used for the creatures, particularly the chilling 'Pale Child- Eating Man', are truly award-worthy masterpieces of art, combined with Doug Jones' beautifully physical performances as the Faun and The Pale Man.
When discussing the film with others, some actually criticised its simplistic story, finding it 'lacking in drive' and, in one case, 'boring'. These are very naive criticisms of the films, both being entirely ignorant of the films deliberately mythical-styled story, the film being a fable as opposed to a story. Once this is accepted, you will experience a beautifully written, perfectly presented, artistically driven masterpiece. What really is astounding is just how flawless the film is. I cannot recall ever watching a film that has caused every emotion in my body to rise, let alone present itself as a work of art.
There is not a bad word I can say about this film and it's undoubtedly the best movie I have ever seen and one of my personal all-time favourites. If you personally did not enjoy the film, that is fine, but there is nothing here to criticise. The film is genuinely entirely wonderful, remaining a master of artistic direction and emotional qualities. I can now say my love for film has been re-energised, and I will gladly sit through the increasingly high levels of rubbish Hollywood has resorted to, knowing that films like this are possible.