A Goyaesque vision of Spain

Rating: 9/10 (6 February 2007)

At the end of the 18th century, Spanish artist Goya produced an artistic masterpiece "el sueño de la razon produce monstrous - the dream of reason creates monsters". Del Toros' recent film is a modern version of the same theme. As in Goya's time when Spain was rocked by the Napoleonic invasion, the setting of Pan's Labyrinth during the time of Spain's civil war serves to remind the viewer that society is very fragile and subject to radical change through brute force. In the new Spain, where might makes right, innocence is lost, and people's lives are sacrificed in order to make way for a painful vision of Spain's fascist future, a girl creates an alternative fantasy world in order to cope with the trauma that is her life. Nevertheless the monsters of her dreams provide little escape from the brutes that she must deal with every day. Trust, power, loyalty, secrets, all are vividly represented by the actors in this, one of the best films of 2006.