A beautiful, moving and stunning film, easily the best film of 2006

Rating: 10/10 (22 January 2007)

Accompanied by her pregnant mother (Ariadna Gil), Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) moves from a Spanish city to the countryside to live with her new stepfather, Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez). During the night Ofelia meets a fairy and together they go to a pit in the centre of a nearby maze where they meet a faun (Doug Jones) that tells her she is a princess from another world. He explains to her that she needs to complete three gruesome, tough and dangerous assignments to be reunited with her father again. Meanwhile, she befriends a servant, Mercedes (Maribel Verdu), one of her only friends in the real world. This mixture of war, Gothic fantasy and drama happens to be a beautiful, moving and stunning film and the best to come around in some time (and deservedly received a 22 minute applause at the Cannes Film Festival).
I personally could not wait to see this, as I love dark horror/fantasies. My expectations were high going into this, but when I walked out of the theatre I was one happy person, this movie fulfilled all my expectations and then some. Honestly, what I say cannot do this movie justice, it was an incredible experience now one of my favourite films. It is a brutally violent, moving, magical and at times lovely movie. Guillermo del Toro (who made the Spanish horror "The Devil's Backbone" and Hollywood blockbusters "Blade II" and "Hellboy") wrote and directed Pan's Labyrinth with an evident passion. The story flows beautifully, with no flaws and a smooth pace. Accompanied by del Toro's almost unmatched skill as a modern director, Pan's Labyrinth succeeds on all fronts. Javier Navarrete's incredible score is both touching and soothing and adds a huge emotional impact throughout the whole movie. The action sequences are shot stylishly and are incredibly bloody. Del Toro does not shy away from bloodshed in the real world and the magical world. Moreover, the fantasy elements are incredibly dark and adult and are not your typical Disney creatures which spontaneously burst into song. The creatures that Ofelia encounters are dark and scary looking things. The Faun, although a kind and gentle creature looks and sounds quite menacing and The Pale Man is easily the creepiest creation I have seen in a fantasy movie and although he has a short amount of screen time it's definitely an unforgettable thing.
The acting is absolutely wonderful, especially from Baquero, who gives a powerful performance as young Ofelia. I can see her going far with the amount of talent she has. Lopez is very menacing and sadistic as the Captain, whenever he is on screen his presence immediately fills it. Kudos must go to Jones, who plays not only The Faun but also The Pale Man, he gives life to two polar creatures and as a result, breathes more life into an already perfect film. Also, the cinematography is gorgeous, Guillermo Navarro captures the gorgeous Spanish countryside, a war-torn city and Ofelia's fantasy world with striking beauty and grimness. If there is ever a list of must-see movies, this will surely be present. I urge anyone who has not seen this to see it without delay. Honestly, this movie is flawless in my books. Everything from the acting, the direction, the score and the cinematography, del Toro has created a cinematic treasure that any cinema geek should see now! 5/5