Very good fantasy, but questionable politics.

Rating: 7/10 (20 February 2007)

I like fantasies and this is definitely a very good one - I enjoyed it and was really concerned about Orfilia and the baby notwithstanding the real-world intrusions that grated, in part because they were un-necessary. The ability of everyone to run around an armed camp after dark was unrealistic as was the Captain's ability to carry on after being stabbed in the back, in the chest and having his face sliced open. The worst aspect was del Toro's romantic left-wing stance. The guerrillas in the film were all freedom loving romantic heroes when in fact, by that point in the Spanish Civil War, the Republicans were co-opted by the Soviet Union and the freedom fighters would have been the same type of vicious thugs that comprised the Franco military. However, the point is taken about questioning authority, purpose objectives etc. Maybe both sides should have.