theoretically brilliant

Rating: 9/10 (4 December 2006)

Regardless of your opinion(s) about the narrative, actor performances, and sometimes brutal violence contained in 'Pan's Labyrinth', it really would take a philistine to call this a 'bad' film. The blend of subtle conflicting montage cells with deep-focus photography is seamless; truly on a par with 'Citizen Kane' or 'The Magnificent Ambersons'. The mise-en-scene is gorgeous and exquisitely realised. From shot-to-shot it is impossible to get bored, even if you don't follow the leads or the narrative you will be sucked into the visual image itself. Andre Bazin and Sergei Eisenstein would be proud. From a critical/theoretical point of view, 'Pan's Labyrinth' is a masterpiece however you see it. Now go watch it in a cinema while you still can.