Pan's Labyrinth - (2006)

Original Title: El Laberinto Del Fauno
Country: Mexico
Dir: Guillermo Del Toro
Genre: Fantasy-Drama
Rating: 8.5/10

After the box-office success of Hellboy in 2004, Mexican filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro returns to the big screen with his most serious minded work till date. Pan's Labyrinth is a grimly told fantasy-drama set during the aftermath of the Spanish civil war, whose protagonist - Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) - is an imaginative young girl who learns that she is a princess of an underground kingdom, when she ventures into an elaborate stone labyrinth presided over by a mythical creature 'Faun' (Doug Jones), tucked away in the Spanish country side.

Ofelia encounters the Pale Man

Del Toro has perfectly melded historical fact and imaginative fantasy by crafting an entertaining pair of CG-heavy sequences and political commentary. The lens of cinematographer Guillermo Navarro has captured the brutal imagery with a balance of great beauty. The composition, colour and stylistic texture of the movie suggest a fevered child's hallucinatory interpretation of a fairy tale.

All of these elements of course would have been wasted if not for the exceptional acting skills displayed by Sergi Lopez (of Dirty Pretty Things) who plays the general, Maribel verdu (Mercedes), Doug Jones (Faun/ Pale Man) and more so by Ivana Baquero. If the general is evil personified then Ofelia is the embodiment of innocence. In his duel roles as the Faun and the downright terrifying Pale Man, Doug Jones (Mimic) once again collaborates with Del Toro to striking effect. The Special effects and make-up have the power to dazzle and horrify. A sleepy lullaby, forms the foundation of Javier Navarrete's background score. To sum up, all the elements in Pan's Labyrinth fall beautifully into place to form a genuinely affecting adult fairy tale.