An innovative blend of fantasy and reality

Rating: 10/10 (15 December 2007)

There is a rare class of movies that get better every time you watch them. Pan's Labryinth is one of those films. After viewing it the second time, I love it even more than when I first saw it in the theatre.
There are two plots that are woven together. The first is about Ofelia, a young girl who embarks on a quest to return to her kingdom in the underworld by a mysterious Faun. The second is about her nurse Mercedes, and her quest to dispose Ofelia's Fascist stepfather, Captain Vidal. Ivanna Baquero, in spite of her young age, can act circles around many of Hollywood's best in her role as Ofelia, coming across as a mature but still imaginative young girl who must deal with a cruel stepfather, a civil war, and a dying pregnant mother on top of a dangerous quest for immortality. Mercedes is excellent as she spends day after day serving her fascist master so that she can gather intelligence and supplies for her brother and his freedom fighters. Captain Vidal is a cool, sadistic villain, while still sympathetic in his concern for his unborn son. The doctor, while pessimistic about overthrowing the fascists, does the right thing in aiding Mercedes against them. Overall, this movie is a perfect blend of fantasy and reality, and would be enjoyable even to those who stopped believing in fairy tales when they were ten. As both plots combine into a tragic but optimistic story, so do the genres of war and fantasy combine in this film to create a dark but excellent movie.