A chilling performance at the center of a moving film

Rating: 10/10 (28 December 2006)

I've only felt this way straight after seeing a film once before, and that was when I first saw City of God (which I returned to see twice on the following two nights). Pan's Labyrinth is THAT good.
The film is sold as the story of a little girl's escape into a fantasy world during tumultuous times for her country. But the fantasy world the child escapes to is perhaps the film's weakest point; it doesn't seem enough like the creation of a little girl's mind. Yes it should have dark elements as it's an allegory for dark times, but even the brighter aspects of the world lack sparkle. But that's a minor niggle. The story unfolding in the fantasy world is a great parallel narative to go alongside the unsettling post-war story in the real world... and the brutal acts of the military, and their capitan in particular.
I'd seen Sergi Lopez in a coupe of other films (Harry he's here to help and A Pornographic Affair), in both of which he gave strong, but believable, performances. In Pan's Labyrinth he delivers what must be a career best performance; chilling to the core. The scene where he is about to begin torturing a captive is almost cartoonish in the way it is written ("let me show you my tools") but Sergi resists the temptation to ham up the character of the Capitan, and the whole film benefits from the believability of the central bad guy.
The supporting cast (though many of them having pretty significant role0 also play the parts perfectly. The doctor and the housekeeper are particularly strong, but there's not one moment in the film where I felt someone played a part wrong (except the little girl once or twice, but generally her performance is excellent).
One of the most amazing films I've ever seen