Monday, June 25, 2007

Pan's Labyrinth - 2006

A young girl and her very pregnant mother travel to the countryside in post civil war Spain. During the journey, the girl finds a very large insect which she takes for a fairy. They arrive at a lodge to meet the girl's new father, a sadistic army capitan. The girl also finds a stone labyrinth.
That first night she's woken by the fairy and led to the labyrinth where she meets a faun and is told that she's the reincarnation of a fairy princess. Probably. She must complete three tasks to prove herself worthy. But can she trust the faun?
Meanwhile, the capitan is trying to track down a remaining group of rebels in hills outside the town. He ruthlessly and savagely attacks any possible partisan. He's possibly the worst man in uniform since the concentration camp commandant in Schindler's List. A mole within the camp provides the sympathetic note for his enemies.
The two stories intertwine as the girl is pushed harder and harder away from the real world into a bizzare (and dangerous) fantasy world. Her actions create chaos around the camp and she finds tools in the other world that help her out in real life. Both stories are very interesting and filled with tension and danger.
The movie is very well put together. The cinematography is impressive and the fantasy elements are very well done. Two things surprised me, it's in Spanish with subtitles and it's very violent. Not intended for children! But for adults...you could do worse. Haunting, disturbing and well worth watching.

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