Great Packaging

Rating: 7/10 (2 May 2008)

I was totally captivated by this movie - from beginning to end. BUT, after I was done watching, I realized that its a fairly simplistic movie. It has a often-repeated fairy tale laced over a historical vignette. Its not the content, but the form and the interwoven stories that make the movie so captivating. The fairy tale weaves in and out of the bleak reality of Spain's war. It offers a little bit for everyone, fairy tale, blood and gore, underground rebellion. I liked the make-up artistry displayed in the movie. The little girl, who is the chief protagonist, has done a remarkable job. I wonder why the director introduced the concept of "I know a lullaby but I don't know the words". Its a pretty decent late lazy afternoon timepass movie.