unique

Rating: 9/10 (11 February 2009)

I was expecting a Felliniesque romp. It was not. This movie is completely different. It is about war, cruelty and brutality, delicately merged with the weird and supernatural. It flits back and forth, gradually merging the two more deeply so you can't tell them apart.
I thought it might be a Euro Charles Bronson revenge flick because the villains were so villainous. It made me hate the military and war with a white hot passion. I was wrong every time I tried to predict the plot with the usual movie formulas. I had to walk away several times during the movie because I could not handle the cruelty. It depicts pain in ways very easy to relate to, and very hard to watch dispassionately.
The movie is in Spanish, a rich, rolling Spanish that exudes passion. It has an almost operatic feel to it. Much of the movie is filmed in the dark with fires and candlelight.
The film early on sets the stage that everyone is at risk. So the threats to the young heroine are terrifying and completely believable. The suspense is real.
The actor who plays the faun is riveting. You can't take your eyes off him and your ears hang on his every syllable. He is both kindly and terrifying at the same time.
The special effects are unusually good, especially the way stick insects gradually become fairies and back. The way they do it is much like the way you can see figures in the embers of a fire. At first you wonder if your OWN imagination is playing tricks on you.
The ending was very different than the orgy of special effects I expected, but on reflection, it reflected perfect cosmic justice.