Member review

Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ is a masterpiece film, that mirrors the dark fantasy world of a young girl young, Ofelia, and the dark real world around her in post-civil war Spain. While it is filmed entirely in Spanish, even someone who knows no Spanish can be captivated by this beautiful film. Young Ofelia has been taken to the mountains by her mother, who is married to Captain Vidal and heavily pregnant with his child. Whereas Captain Vidal is hunting and brutally killing those he suspects to be part of the civil war resistance, Ofelia is getting lost in a world of fantasies. Only through her fantasy stories does Ofelia find her escape, being drawn away by the fairies to meet a Faun in the middle of a Labyrinth. The Faun tells her she is the spirit of a lost Princess of the woods whose father, the King, has been waiting for her. But to prove she is the true Princess, she has to complete 3 tasks so that she can become immortal and meet her father in the underworld. Del Toro mixes the stereotypical fairy tale themes with the dark gothic, making an instant classic. It is a beautiful film that is both intense and emotional.