Emperor's new clothes

Rating: Null/10 (18 June 2007)

Obviously, all opinions on film are purely subjective, but I fail to see how this film lives up to its awesome reputation.
Yes, it's nicely made, and Sergi Lopez is a fantastic super-villain, but there's little to amaze here.
It's a film of two halves, fantasy and reality, and although there are some obvious parallels they fail to converge with any purpose.
The fantasy sequences are Harry Potter meets Hellraiser. They look good but are not as visually stunning nor as strangely disturbing as you may have been led to believe. They owe more to standard fairy tales written by adults than they do the wild imaginings of children.
Interestingly, the reality sections are the more like a child's view of the civil war in Spain, where the communists are lovable heroes and the fascists impossibly evil. Perhaps this is deliberate, but if so, I can't see the point.
Del Toro's The Devil's Backbone is better in every respect, so I recommend you adjust your expectations to less than masterpiece before viewing.