A fairy tale dissociated between illusion and reality

Rating: 8/10 (4 May 2020)

At the beginning of the story, the mother and daughter came to rely on the stepfather of a fascist officer, but in this secluded mountain village, hiding the people of revenge and mysterious residence, the tone of the story became low and uneasy. Ofelia found the maze with a simple and mysterious Mayan style under the guidance of the elf. Just like Alice got into the rabbit hole, her curiosity led her to step into the fairy tale door. The strange-looking Pan Shen tells an ancient story. The heroine suddenly finds that she may be the protagonist of this story. It is no longer a dream for Cinderella to become a princess. But there is no free lunch in the world, even for the princess. It is a task. Complete three tasks before returning to the hometown that has been forgotten for thousands of years.
A wordless book, a piece of chalk, an hourglass, a fairytale adventure is going on, and brutal killing is going on. The stepfather becomes more and more cold, and only the child in the mother's womb is his concern. Ofeilia became more and more helpless, and only felt a little warm when she leaned on her mother to tell the unborn brother a fairy tale completely contrary to reality, and the desire to return to the kingdom of fairy tales became stronger.
The unfortunate fate finally began. The greed of the child almost shattered the hope of returning to his hometown. The mother died of dystocia. The stepfather was frustrated and mad. However, luck and hope still favored this kind and beautiful little girl. When the stepfather's whistling bullet was shot into Ofeilia's chest, she seemed to see happiness that she had never seen, a splendid palace, and the father and mother welcomed her return Finally, she found her home with a happy smile.
About others
The story is bigger than the characters. The character of the whole film is characterless. Some impressions are the cold stepfather who plays with pocket watches and the doctor with the same expression. Pan Shen in the labyrinth is not only reminiscent of Minotaur in the labyrinth of Crete. It looks so weird, really worrying about Ofelia's safety. The architectural style in the fairy tale tends to Maya, perhaps due to the participation of Mexican companies in film production. For the entire film, fairy tale fantasy and cruel reality are intertwined. The lightness of fairy tales dispels the heaviness of reality. The cruel despair of reality reflects the hope of happiness in fairy tales. A good balance appears. It is no longer meaningful to discuss whether the story is a child's conjecture to escape reality or the real underground kingdom. The key is that the smile she finally hoped has brought her back to where happiness is.
Finally pay tribute to the great Master Calvino