Pan's Labyrinth a Timeless Fairy Tale for Adult Audiences

Mexican filmmaker and writer Guillermo del Toro's three times Academy award-winning blockbuster motion picture, Pan's Labyrinth, starring Sergi Lopez, Maribel Verdú, Ariadna Gil, Alex Angulo, Doug Jones and Ivana Baquero, is sure to be remembered as one of the finest epic fairy tale films of the 21^st century.

Taking place during the post civil war reign of Spanish general and dictator, Francisco Franco, the movie unfolds through the eyes and imagination of Ofelia, an 11-year old girl, played by Ivana Baquero.

In the opening moments of the movie, a fairy tale, being read by Ofelia as she and her pregnant mother Carmen, played by Ariadna Gil, are traveling through the countryside to join Carmen's new husband, Captain Vidal, played by Sergi Lopez, is revealed.

"A long time ago, in the Underground Realm, where there are no lies or pain, there lived a princess who dreamt of the human world. She dreamt of blue skies, soft breezes and sunshine. One day, eluding her keepers, the princess escaped. Once outside, the bright sun blinded her and erased her memory. She forgot who she was and where she came from. Her body suffered cold, sickness and pain. Eventually she died. However, her father, the king, always knew she would return, perhaps in another body, in another place, at another time. He would wait for her, until he drew his last breath, until the world stopped turning."

Too young to understand and cope with the brutality of her new stepfather's cold and heartless ways, Ofelia's reality becomes blurred with her fairy tales soon after arriving at Captain Vidal's home, where anyone daring to disobey the psychopathic Captain routinely encounters a horrific execution.

In Ofelia's imaginary world, a neglected garden labyrinth situated on the grounds of Captain Vidal's military post, she meets a faun, played by Doug Jones. The faun tells Ofelia she is Princess Moanna, the daughter of the king of the underworld. To return to her father and the kingdom, Ofelia must first prove to the faun that "her essence remains intact, that she has not become a mortal" by passing three tests before the next full moon by following the faun's instructions implicitly.

Pan's Labyrinth, which superbly combines Ofelia's fantasy world as princess Moanna and real life existence, is an updated version of the "good versus evil" dilemma typically portrayed in fairy tales and fables.

The story presents many moral issues for consideration with regards to what amount of obedience is acceptable. Should we obey at all costs as in the case of Captain Vidal's "no tolerance" policy for disobedience? Should we go against immoral acts for our own personal gain as in the case of Ofelia's fantasy world?

Director del Toro's choice of intertwining a child's dark fantasy world with the realistic battle of resistance fighters during Franco's Spain is the perfect setting for exploring when we should obey and when we should express our free will.

Pan's Labyrinth is without a doubt an exceptional work reminiscent of the classic adult fairy tales and fables, which usually address moral issues, told by Aesop, Jean de La Fontaine, Joel Chandler Harris and Walt Disney.

Academy Award Winner for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Makeup, Pan's Labyrinth is well worth watching, over and over again.