Fantasy Horror set in historical context. Excellent film-making.

Rating: 9/10 (11 February 2007)

We went to see it last night, late showing. The theater was sparsely populated, and we had the best seats in the house with no effort. We'd snuck bottles of pop in. I had a coupon for a medium bag of popcorn, and my boyfriend got another bag, as well as some Reese's pieces.
We were all set to be entertained and perhaps frightened a little. Our local paper and a few online synopses characterized the film as horror rather than fantasy. Pan's Labyrinth can easily fit into either/both genre(s).
The film is set in 1944 Spain, and was written and produced by a Spaniard, Guillermo del Toro. The language is Spanish, with English subtitles. The scenery, including magical sunlight, is distinctly southern European. The myriad shadows in the film are also striking.
The cast of PL is impressive! The actors are unknowns to me, but I haven't seen many Spanish films, so it's no surprise. The character development for several of the characters is also impressive. I will leave it to you to decide whether there is a dichotomy between good and evil or whether what you see in them shows light and shadow depending on which perspective you're taking...
The plot follows that of a classic fairy tale. The special effects have been meticulously manifested, and you'll believe them when you see them. The sets are likewise impressive. You should not wait to see this film as a video rental. It cannot be fully appreciated unless seen on the big screen.
One thing that stands out for me in Pan's Labyrinth is the non-hysterical response of the heroes in the film to magic, where the most gruesome human character responds to it with panic. It's a calming change of pace to not see people freak out when "magic" shows itself to the ordinary person.