This movie is good ,but not what the trailers make you believe .

Rating: 9/10 (16 April 2007)

The first trailer (in Spanish)make me believe that it was going to be a twisted horror movie .The second make me believe that it was a fantasy like "The Lord of the Rings " or "Narnia " . Then ,when I saw the movie ,I wasn't what I was expecting ,but I liked a lot . This is definitely NOT a movie for children . It was very dark ,and it have brief ,but graphic violence .But it wasn't a horror movie either . And talking about the fantasy parts ... I guess that the trailers could make you think in lots of CGI ,monsters or fantastic landscapes . There is some elements of fantasy ,and yes ,there are monsters and fairies ,but those elements aren't the most important thing in the story . The story is a parallel between a fairy tale ( in the old style ,with creepy monsters and strange situations ,not on like the Walt Disney movies ) and the cruelty of the war and how a girl finds her hope of the bleak reality inside a fantasy world . That world is dark too ,but at least gives her a hope for a better future . I think that is out of place discuss if the fantasy parts are real or not . The direction of Guillermo del Toro give it an ambiguous tone ,where the decision to accept if the fantasy world is real or not depends of the viewer . Even that ,both realities in the movie are wonderfully made : while the reality of the war is sober and dramatic ,the fantasy world have a unique and sometimes grotesque imagination ,something like not many filmmakers have . And the emotions in the movie are intense and powerful . I think that Doug Jones as the faun and the Pale Man was fantastic and the awards and the praise that this movie received are very well deserved . But remember : this isn't a movie for children ,but a serious war drama that uses fairy tales as support . A fairy tales for grow ups .