El Laberinto del fauno (Pan's Labyrinth)

Rating: 10/10 (20 August 2007)

Just a beautiful and breathtaking film. The real wonder in this is that it's so many things at once: scary and beautiful, magical and grotesque, bloody and sweet, vicious and hopeful. Everything seems to fit, there's so much going on.
In a time in which most movies are remakes or sequels, this movie is so original and enervating, I haven't seen anything like this in years.
It is a story about a bookish young girl named Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) and the fantasy world she creates, to survive the harsh reality of Fascist Spain of 1944.
This is one of those kind of movies that the line between fantasy and reality begins to blur. Is Ofelia in her own fantasy world? Or is it actually the real world? The fantastic thing about the movie is that everything is deliberately ambiguous and there are many clues that support both theories. Amazing, ending. It is a film that takes you places that other films rarely go.
Not many films can break your heart and blow your mind at the same time. This is one of them. Highly recommended.
What a performance from Sergi López who plays the sadistic Capitán Vidal. Wow. I can't say, I was surprised by what happens to him..... those foreshadowing recurrent images of him shaving with a straight razor; esp. the scene where he slashes at his own reflection.
One scene that really stood with me was that scene where he was egging on the young parstian. The whole " I'll let you go if you can count to three without stuttering." Sick stuff.