July 12, 2007
Pan's Labyrinth
Pan's Labyrinth
Following a bloody civil war, young Ofelia enters a world of unimaginable cruelty when she moves in with her new stepfather, a tyrannical military officer. Armed with only her imagination, Ofelia discovers a mysterious labyrinth and meets a faun who sets her on a path to saving herself and her ailing mother. But soon, the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur, and before Ofelia can turn back, she finds herself at the center of a ferocious battle between good and evil.
The movie is in Spanish with English subtitles, but you get so engrossed in what is going on on the screen, reading and watching blends seamlessly together and makes you totally immersed in the story of Ofelia.
Ofelia and her mother are driven to live with her mother's new husband at his military outpost, and her mother is not doing very well in her pregnancy with her new husband's baby.
Ofelia is terrified of her new stepfather and with good reason, he is a very cruel leader.
There is a rebellion going on and he is determined to stop it by any means necessary.
Ofelia explores the grounds of her new home after she sees a fairy who leads her into the labyrinth, and down some winding stairs where she meets faun who is convinced she is the long lost spirit of the underground king's daughter who had run away many years ago and died.
The faun gives her three tasks to complete before the moon turns full in order to prove she is indeed the long lost princess.
Her tasks are not easy to do for such a small girl, but she does them because life at home is getting increasingly worse with her stepfather capturing and torturing, and eventually killing rebellion soldiers.
Her mother is also getting worse and worse as the time of the child birth draws near.
Ofelia is given a special thing to place under her mother's bed to improve her health and that of the baby boy she carries.
The blood of an innocent must be spilled in order for her to return to her true home in the underground, but will she be able to complete this task?
This is a gloriously beautiful movie.
The effects blend in so well, you start thinking they are real yourself.
This is not a children's fairytale by any means.
It is dark and cruel, there are several very violent scenes of war and torture, so keep this in mind if you have children and you plan to watch it.
I would not recommend it for anyone under age 13, but it is a stunning piece of film and is heavily recommended by myself and my teenage sons whom I was sure would hate it.
They loved this story.
