Pan's Labyrinth - A Triumphant Achievement

Rating: 10/10 (31 March 2007)

Pan's Labyrinth tells the tale of young Ofelia, who is stepdaughter to a fascist Captain in 1944. When she strays off into the forest near her new-found home she discovers a dark, eerie, fantasy world.
Visually, this movie is stunning. I was surprised that a movie outside the U.S. could produce such an amazing use of special effects and cgi, easily comparable and more-often BETTER than ANYTHING the U.S. coughed up that year. This movie truly pulls you in to it's fantastic world and does not let you leave and it's plot is enchanting and captivating. But this is far, far away from some children's fantasy, the movie is 18's for a reason. It's violent and truly brutal at times, leading to some very squeamish moments. This combination of violence, dark themes and fantasy is rare in the mainstream cinema, making this film a breath of fresh air and quite unique.
The fact that it is in Spanish can't be taken as a negative element, I for one hardly noticed due to the fact that I was so enthralled in the movie itself and it really portrayed how ridiculous award ceremonies such as The Oscars are, that simply because of the language this (far superior) movie couldn't contend against movies like 'Little Miss Sunshine' for Best Film.
I highly recommend this, BELIEVE the critics view on this, it truly is an amazing movie and like all amazing movies, it is not simply about the story irt offers, but delves far more into underlying themes than a first watch might suggest. I loved it.