The Republican Reich fascist fantasy...

Rating: 10/10 (11 October 2014)

Guillermo del Toro directs circles around most filmmakers, and PAN'S LABYRINTH is Exhibit Number One. The mix of brutal Reality and beautiful Fantasy has never been done better, though the historical horror overshadows (and eventually consumes) the imaginary world that del Toro creates. When Ofelia and her pregnant mother Carmen arrive at their new home with the sadistic Capatain Vidal in 1944 Spain, the stage is set for the fantasy that follows. The ever slow-moving camera watches scenes play out in an almost dream-like manner, drifting in and out and around the players the entire time. I've always liked this approach to cinematography: it helps make even static scenes tolerable. When the fascists begin to round up and torture and kill some of the "rebels," del Toro contrasts these horrors with the mundane, everyday indifference of the world around them: the forest itself is undisturbed by the wanton murders. Ofelia follows a fairy into an underground world where she meets a faun. "You're going to a very dangerous place," he warns her. Unfortunately, she doesn't heed the warning, and... well, see for yourself what happens next.