Starting Over

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Pan's Labyrinth

Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth is one of my favoutrite movies of 2006. It is a grown up fairy tale, not afraid to look deeply into the darkside, that truly succeeds in using all the wonders of filmmaking to create a compelling drama.
Set in the immediate aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, Ofelia and her heavily pregnant mother are escorted to a rural militray outpost where Ofelia's stepfather commands with a cruel and harsh fist. Ofelia's mother urges her to forget the world of fairytales - real life she suggests is more urgent and demanding. Yet a dragonfly, a faun (the Pan of the title), a labyrinth and monsters emerge and both parallel and reflect the monstrous reality that surrounds Ofelia as a community attempts to resist Franco's rule. Elements of fairy tales, horror stories and tales of war combine in an engaging and strikingly visual film.

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