What exactly is the nightmare?

Rating: 10/10 (27 March 2020)

"El Laberinto Del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth)" is a 2006 Spanish fantasy drama directed by Guillermo Del Toro starring Ivana Baquero and Sergi Lopez. After the recent watch of "A Monster Calls" I thought it was time to rewatch one of the film's most obvious influences. What makes this watch so special is the simple fact that I experienced it in the original Spanish version, of course with subtitles. Cause you know, I don't speak Spanish at all, but I wanted to see it as original as possible.
In the past, a trio of Mexican directors have established themselves in modern Hollywood and are jokingly known as the "Mexican Trinity" nowadays. Those directors are Alfonso Cuaron, Alejandro G. Innaritu and Guillermo Del Toro, all three are not only Academy Award winners, they also managed to make successful films in both English and their own mother language. In the case of Del Toro, his hugest success is this fantastic fantasy drama. As initially stated, I've already seen it roughly two years ago and it already amazed me back then. Now upon a rewatch, I see myself appreciating it even more. The director has put all blood, sweat and tears into this project and it's palpable in every single minute of runtime. He's created a nightmarish fairy tale that consists of countless small facets that make it so incredibly outstanding. What probably makes this film so legendary is simply how it looks. From start to finish it's absolutely picturesque and colorful, the visuals are nothing but stunning. On top of that, it doesn't only look incredible, it's at the same time ingeniously captured. DP Navarro did his best work in here and is one of the main reasons the film works out so well. But it's not only the superb style, it's also the story that makes it so uniquely precious. The Mexican mastermind has written and enacted a compelling and perfectly paced dark coming of age tale of a young girl during the Spanish war. In the course of this, he doesn't only manage to create realistic characters with complex personalities, he also succeeds to draw on a number of genres without letting it become a mess. What this film combines is nothing short of masterclass writing. On the core it's a packing history drama that elegantly weavers to together itself with fantasy and horror elements. Fairies and Fauns in a war drama? So strangely experimental. The Pale Man? Absolutely horrifying and iconic. As if that wasn't enough, the film even offers subtle social criticism with a juxtaposition of the war infected reality with the terrifying fantasy world, but it obviously comes to the conclusion that the reality is the true horror in this. While the CGI isn't quite the most outstanding (come on, it's no Hollywood blockbuster!), it still offers shockingly brutal make up effects that underline this statement. All in all, this film is hands down one of the most masterfully crafted feature films of all time. Not only does it have a breathtakingly beautiful story, it also has excellent acting performances a captivating plot and eerie visuals. It's a unique piece of art that combines countless aspects to sheer brilliance. Its overall tone end especially the ending might be sad, but it's never too depressing. The film effortlessly manages to hit you at the whole range of human emotions. Every director has a masterpiece and this is without a doubt Del Toro's magnum opus and probably one of the best Spanish films of all time. An absolutely beautiful dark fairy tale that anyone should have seen at least once.