A film such as Pan's Labyrinth couldn't exist without the apocalyptically titled War on Terror.

Rating: 10/10 (10 May 2010)

Pan's Labyrinth is a brilliant work of the imagination, capable of truly seizing and igniting our fantasies. In 1944 Spain, the imaginative stepdaughter (Ivana Baquero) of a cruel fascist army captain (Sergi Lopez i Ayats) takes refuge in a fantasy world, and meets a faun, a monstrous toad and a pale, death-like man.
The film is a supernatural drama set against the real-life aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, when victorious fascists were hunting down resistance fighters. The fantasy elements, superbly realised through brilliant CGI work and set design, illuminate the stark horrors, explicitly portrayed, that occur in Ofelia's real world. Outstanding performances by Lopez and Baquero, and Maribel Verdu as the gallant, courageous housekeeper Mercedes. But the major credit is director Guillermo del Toro's; from disparate elements he has forged a monumental work of visually breathtaking art.