Beautiful, haunting, heartbreaking. An instant classic.

Rating: 10/10 (26 December 2007)

Pans labyrinth is the story of an 11 year old girl, Ofelia, growing up during the Spanish civil war. The step-daughter of the ruthless captain, and her pregnant mothers health worsening everyday, Ofelia finds reality a cruel place. So she escapes, to her own fantasy world when she discovers a fairy lurking in the woods. Before long she is lead to a faun who informs her that she is in fact a long lost princess reincarnated. But before she can claim her rightful place on the throne she must prove herself with three dangerous tasks. As Ofelias' world deteriorates around her, her reality and fantasy worlds begin to blur together as she realises that the world is a cruel and terrible place.
Guillermo Del Toro directs this haunting tale with a beauty and style all his own. A mention of course should go to the arts department(which Guillermo himself apparently helped with) and special effects that work to bring Ofelias' amazing fantasy to life. The juxtaposition between Ofelias' fractured fairytale and the real world is balanced perfectly. All these elements come together to tell an age old tale of magic, innocence, beauty and tragedy.
A classic.