Fantasy & Reality perfectly bound as one

Rating: 9/10 (22 February 2011)

I was apprehensive and you could say 'not bothered' about watching Pan's Labyrinth, I think it was down to 2 reasons, 1) When I am recommended things, especially when the recommender is obviously passionate about spreading the word of the film, I often get worried about watching it in case I don't like it 2) The cover of the film and the artwork on the sleeve put me off, it looked very magical and fantasy and dark, not traits I desire in a film usually However, on watching the film the 'Dark, fantasy' element of the film is just one of its many faces.
The film manages, within the first 5 minutes, to create a tension inside you that instantly puts you on edge, you know something beyond the normality of the initial military scenes will happen, but you just don't know when, why or how. As the film continues it becomes even more difficult to see how the quite serious & fact based military story, will intertwine with the magical fantasy story that you know is about to happen, but it does, and it does so very well.
The nerves and fear I felt throughout the first half an hour, were all targeted towards the darker underworld but the film amazingly manages to shift your fear towards the 'normal' world in the story, mirroring, I think, the shift in Ofelia's emotions towards the new world she has encountered. You begin to not fear the underworld, but embrace what it is about and your hatred towards Vidal intensifies.
From about 45 minutes onwards I was gripped, had settled into the film nicely and could really enjoy the special effects, the clever linking of the story lines characters and how they all work together It was a clever backdrop to stage a fantasy film, giving it reality and mortality to balance the fantasy element of the film and for someone like me who isn't a big fantasy film fan, that was essential.
The acting was brilliant, effects were amazing and subtle, the story line was good, but I don't necessarily think it was a film about an intense story, the story was more a basis for delivery of a very imaginative fantasy world.
My only downside was the ending, I think it either should have left it without explanation, or explained the transition back to the underworld as a princess a little better. Was that her real mum and dad? I think it was but not sure if they were consciously the same people (although we never met her dad) in the real world, or if in fact, like her, they didn't know who they really were either