Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Pan's Labyrinth is in Spanish, with English subtitles. It is also called El Laberino del Fauno.

There are many fantasies that are so boring, but never before has dream like imagery and the horrors of real life been mixed. Pan's Labyrinth is not a G-rated fantasy as you would have expected. It is a violent R-rated venture into the dark world of Facist Spain in 1944-Guillermo Del Toro style. Fascinating special effects and great acting abound, Pan's Labyrinth is one of those movies you have to see more than once.

Pan's Labyrinth is the dark tale of Ofelia, a girl whose mother has recently married a wicked general. To break away from the harsh realities of the war, she goes to a labyrinth where one night she meets a creature who tells her she is Princess Mohana and must go through three obstacles to regain her royalty. As she completes them, she is forced to deal with the events that surround her as well as the ones inside the labyrinth.

The special effects in this film are outstanding. In the days where mostly everything is done on the computer, many of the effects were done with makeup. The best and finest example of this is the Pale Man, one of Ofelia's obstacles. He is missing eyes and is completely shriveled up. The great thing about it is that is so creepy because it looks so real. For information on how they did it, one should look no further than the excellent documentary on the DVD.

The real triumph here is Guillermo Del Toro's adaptation of the idea of a fairy tale for adults. Violence is blended with fantasy in a surreal and absurd manner. In fact, I'd say that this is the best case of this that I know of. Many of Miyizaki's films utilize this idea, but this shows happiness and sadness as polar opposites which his films fail to do.

Pan's Labyrinth is one of the outstanding films of 2006. It won three Oscars and it rightfully deserved each one. Guillermo Del Toro has produced and excellent fantasy drama that will stay with me for ages. The ending still makes me weep every time I watch it.