Important film

Rating: 8/10 (4 July 2007)

Set against the backdrop of Franco's oppressive rule in 1944, Spanish filmmaker, Guillermo del Toro, offers us a historical fantasy which accurately depicts fascist Spain. "Pan's Labyrinth" is both vile and sublime, painfully true to the facts of the period. To human nature, as well, unfortunately. It is a story that touches too many of us in our everyday lives and is a film that is difficult to ignore.
Traveling with her pregnant mother to meet her new step-father, played brilliantly by Sergi Lopez, our heroine, little Ofelia has a world all her own. Ivana Baquero, aged 12 years-old portrays her character with uncanny innocence. The entire piece holds historical significance and del Toro's screenplay impacts the senses in such a way, that we witness, or suffer, the horror of the times through a child's eyes. In this case, her imagination; her only refuge against the world around her. "Pan's Labyrinth" is rare achievement, for it holds innocence against evil and evil wins. Or does it, truly?