The best movie of the year

Rating: 10/10 (14 October 2006)

If Guillermo would have born in the past, eh would be the friend of Goya or of the Brothers Grimm. Why? Because his imagery and the aesthetic is unique. Del Toro knows perfectly how to transport the people to his own personal world, only existing inside his "insanily brilliant" mind.
Using a historical reference as a point of start (somehting he did in Devil's backbone) he builds a story of fantasy that happens in/outside of the girl's head.
Having Sergi Lopez as a kind of Kroenen (from Hellboy of course) armed with a bloody gun and his bad mood, perfect as a franquist lieutenant who enjoys killing reds. The little girl makes a great performance far away from what we saw on Narnia (which has a lot of opposite things respect to this nightmarish movie), and the creature design is award worthy.
The story is perfect. You cant add something else, or take something else, is a perfect story for a great movie. The rhythm is kinda slow with some scenes, but without them, we wouldn't have such memorable images. To resume, if you take Hellboy, The Devil's backbone and Silent Hill, you will get this movie. But much much better.