Review of "Pan's Labyrinth"

I've always had a very deep interest into French films after taking 4 semesters of French in high school, but I'd never discovered any Spanish films, with the exception of Y Tu Mama, Tambien, which was brilliant. However, after seeing numerous TV spots and advertisements on-line for this strange, mystical film, I decided that I had to see it.

That was a great decision on my part, I must say.

This is one of the greatest films I've seen, and trust me, I'm not easily pleased when it comes to movies. The acting was incredible, and to my great surprise, the movies co-stars Maribel Verdu, the lead actress in Y Tu Mama, Tambien. She was excellent in that movie, and her acting capabilities have increased with such depth over the past five years. Ivana Baquero plays Ofelia, the main character of the story who makes the incredible journey into the other world inside the labyrinth. Baquero gives Ofelia amazing strength and conviction for someone so young. She overcomes many obstacles along the way (which I, of course, will not spoil) which most people that age could not even begin to fathom. At age 13, we can expect many, many more things to come from her.

The story behind Pan's Labyrinth is beautiful. It takes place in Fascist Spain in 1944. Ofelia is the young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer who accidentally escapes into a very captivating yet eerie world. Little does she know that she is connected to the world already, and that it is not by accident that she discovers it, but by fate alone. Ofelia learns of her affiliation with this strange world, including the nature of her relationship with an aged faun played by Doug Jones, who is both incredibly creepy and wonderful at the same time.

It's very hard to explain the greatness of this film without going into too much spoiler detail. All I can say is, it's definitely a must see. I don't really see too much of an age "range" on this, though I would not recommend showing it to younger children, as there is war-related violence, and some of the characters are extremely strange and possibly frightening. On top of that, unless you're fluent in Spanish, you will have to use the English subtitles. It's impossible to watch without them if you don't know Spanish, or you will have absolutely no idea what is going on in the film. Believe me, I tried! The subtitles don't take away much though - sometimes I find it annoying to have to "read" a movie, but for some reason, I didn't get that feeling with this movie at all.

This period piece combines war, conflict, love, death, sorrow, and the mystical aspects of life that we can't always explain. It's a beautiful film, and it tells a wonderfully touching story that will imprint into your mind, I guarantee you. If you haven't seen this film, I highly suggest that you do sometime soon. Of course it will eventually make its way to HBO and whatnot, but depending on how long that takes, you will have to wait that much longer to experience the fascination of this film!

I really encourage everyone to see it - you won't regret it one bit. While you're at Blockbuster picking it up, I also recommend checking out these foreign films if you haven't already. They are certain to please as well.

Pan's Labyrinth - imdb.com/title/tt0457430/
Y Tu Mama, Tambien - imdb.com/title/tt0245574/
A Very Long Engagement - imdb.com/title/tt0344510/
Amelie - imdb.com/title/tt0211915/
and for you thriller lovers - High Tension - imdb.com/title/tt0338095/