beautiful, but ultimately flawed

Rating: 5/10 (20 January 2007)

El Laberinto del Fauno is one of those films that was on the road to brilliance, but got lost somewhere along the way. The fact that it did not fulfill its potential makes it a frustrating experience, which unfortunately detracts from it's overall beauty. Masterfully shot and directed, it's the story of a young girl caught in the madness of 1940's fascist Spain, who retreats into a colourful fantasy world, which eventually proves to be either her demise or salvation, depending on how you look at it.
There are several scenes of particularly impressive creative vision, however they fail to add up to a cohesive whole. The fantasy world isn't explored in enough depth, but the scenes of it that do exist are breathtaking. The war-based scenes though are often heavy-handed and are not connected well enough to the fantasy scenes. Furthermore, while the characters are all beautifully developed and acted, the plot tends to meander and fails to engage to a satisfying degree.
With some editing or a script rewrite, this could have been a veritable classic. Sadly though, in its present state, it just leaves us wondering what a marvelous film it could have been with a little more effort.