One of a Kind Fantasy film. Definitely Del Toro's greatest film!

Rating: 8/10 (6 April 2007)

Even though I'm one of the absolute few horror freaks out there who thinks the films of Guillermo Del Toro are vastly overrated (or at least over-hyped), deep down I was somewhat confident that "Pan's Labyrinth" would rapidly become his ultimate masterwork. All of his previous genre efforts contain ingenious fantasy elements and genuinely macabre undertones (especially "Cronos" and "The Devil's Backbone") but the screenplays always were unexciting - on the verge of dull, even - and eventually only depended on Del Toro's directorial style & craftsmanship. The aforementioned titles, and to a certain degree "Blade II" and "Mimic" as well, are enchanting to look at but the stories ultimately failed to impress me. A simple glimpse at the poster art and synopsis of "Pan's Labyrinth" already indicated it would be a world of difference! It seems as if Del Toro single-handedly revives the formula of legitimate fairy-tales and passionately reverts to all its old-fashioned and uncanny characteristics, like ominous & grotesque landscapes, youthful heroines, monsters and fairies, violence and very disturbing scenery. Tim Burton is another very gifted filmmaker in the field of adult fairy-tales, but even his films eventually tend to get sentimental and overly joyful, whereas "Pan's Labyrinth" admirably sustains a dark and harrowing atmosphere throughout. And it becomes even more praiseworthy, because Del Toro also managed to successfully blend the fantasy-atmosphere with actual black pages in our history books; more particularly the fascist political situation in Spain near the end of WWII. The film opens with an introduction of a young princess who lost her immortality because she got curious and left her father's magical kingdom in order to explore the rest of the world. Her spirit still floats around though, eagerly looking out to get into the body of a young girl who's courageous and strong enough to fulfill three ordeals that'll bring her back to her father. The fantastic dreamy tone of the intro brutally gets interrupted with images of a young girl and her pregnant mother traveling to the domain of her stepfather, who's an incredibly relentless, sadistic and power-mad army captain under the reign of Franco. Whilst Ofelia enters the garden's labyrinth, where Pan the guardian informs here about her birthright, rebels and insiders fruitlessly attempt to bring down the Captain's dictatorship. Even though "Pan's Labyrinth" is a constantly eventful motion picture, it has to be said the opening 45 minutes (after the intro) are rather dull and disappointing. Ofelia's initial meetings with Pan as well as her first task to accomplish aren't convincing and lack the dark atmosphere the brief fairy-tale introduction promised us. Only after Ofelia's second ordeal  a brief but wondrous confrontation with a malevolent creature with eyes in the palms of his hands  and a baffling depiction of the Captain's evil persona (that man is totally emotion- and heartless!), the film becomes indescribably compelling and hauntingly unsettling. And particularly the climax, which features some unexpected and rarely-seen-before twists, is a powerful demonstration of versatile cinema. The cinematography, set pieces and wholesome of effects all look stunningly breathtaking and nobody can every claim the Oscars "Pan's Labyrinth" won in these categories are undeserved. It's a magnificent film to look at AND listen to as well, as the music (courtesy of Javier Navarette) is extremely enchanting. Watch it when you have the opportunity!