Pan's Labyrinth

The movie takes place during the Spanish Civil war and focuses its attention on a small girl named Ofelia. Ofelia is surrounded by violence, torture, cruelty, and sadness. To help her cope with these events in her real life, she retreats to a dream world. But the darkness of her real world soon begins to blend with that of her dream world creating a nightmarish landscape and a perilous journey.

Guillermo del Toro is obviously a very skilled writer and director. This movie has many complex layers that artfully intertwine with one another. The problem I had with the movie is that Toro brought a lot of influences from his movie Hellboy and I had a hard time separating the two movies in my mind. He crafted a very immersive Spanish Civil war setting that was unique and did not have a lot of the elements of Hellboy. But then in Ofelia's dream world, it was a spitting image of the symbolism, colors, and characteristics of the other film. These sequences felt more like a promo for the upcoming Hellboy 2 then they did for Ofelia's dreams.

That's probably the only negative thing I can say about this movie though. It is a very thought-provoking and original film that is very deserving of an Academy Award. The costume design for the Faun was truly amazing and the sound folly work is second-to-none.

If you're a war buff and you like Marilyn Manson videos than this movie was made just for you. If you like a strong story, interesting characters, and a dark tint to your films, then you should enjoy this film as well.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10