Pan's Labyrinth

Yesterday I went to the movies and saw “Pan’s Labyrinth.” I thought the film was absolutely incredible. Writer/director Guillermo del Toro did an amazing job with crafting this dark and twisted, yet beautiful fairy tale for adults.

The story takes place in fascist Spain in 1944 and is about a young bookish girl, Ofelia, who travels with her pregnant mother, Carmen, to live with her mother’s new husband, the sadistic Capitán Vidal. Upon arriving at Vidal’s mansion, Ophelia comes across a stone labyrinth that is presided over by a mythical faun.

The faun tells Ofelia she is the lost princess of a legend and that she must complete three life-threatening tasks to regain her kingdom and be reunited with her grieving father.

I loved Ofelia’s Alice-like approach to the creatures she encountered. Also, as a viewer it was so easy to get pulled into this movie. After a while, I didn’t even notice the subtitles on the screen.

One of the best parts is when Ofelia is trying to escape from a pale, skeletal creature that has eyes in the palms of its hands. No doubt, this was the creepiest monster that I’ve seen in a film for a long time. I was thoroughly impressed with the originality of it.

Although this film had a lot of violence and brutality, there was always a reason for it. There were no gratuitous blood shots, which I appreciated.

This film definitely deserves recognition and I hope to see it do well at this year’s Oscars.