Great contrast between gruesome reality and fantasy

Rating: 9/10 (29 May 2007)

I was very enthusiastic to see this movie since I always liked movies, where the real world and a fantasy world interact with each other. Of course many movies have problems dealing with this difficult task to show the real world as it is and at the same time to tell a fantasy story that fits in. This movie manages this in a great way. It shows us the brutality of the war, how power is abused by sadistic officers and how it affects innocent people. Especially the main protagonist Ophelia suffers of the brutality of her stepfather and therefore creates a fantasy-world of her own to escape into. This world is presented to us in great and sometimes very abstract visuals, while the real world is like it is in times of war. It's serious, emotionless, brutal and some scenes show quite gruesome violence. Both worlds mix up so well that you sometimes ask yourself, what's real and what's not.
This movie does a really great job in presenting the stark contrast between Ophelias fairytale-world and the harsh reality and the ending is, in my opinion, just great. The only reason I'm giving "just" 7/10 is that there are a bit too few of the great fantasy scenes. I liked them so much, that I was a little disappointed by the fact, that there are so few of them.
Nevertheless, watch that movie. It will be worth your time.