(Nobody move... I dropped my contacts)
I forgot to mention that I saw Pan's Labyrinth last week on one of my rainy afternoons off (heavily fighting the urge to say 'One ticket for Ghost Rider please').
It's set in 1944 Spain after the civil war. A young girl is sent with her pregnant mother to live with her new step-father, a sadistic army captain. As she copes with her cruel new life, she discovers an old labyrinth in the woods, home to a faun who assigns her three tasks to regain her crown as the princess of a magical kingdom.
I really loved this film, but many may not be prepared for the level of violence, both in the world of fantasy and the world of reality. This definitely isn't Narnia, and there's a lot of cringeworthy bloodletting and torture, mostly at the hands of Capitán Vidal, the ultimate in evil stepfathers.
That said, director Guillermo del Toro, did a wonderful job of weaving the two worlds together. This isn't the typical case of a child using fantasy to escape from the horror that surrounds her. If anything, her fantasy world mirrors her reality, giving her the context to cope with the painful obstacles that she must overcome. It's not just a story about the loss of innocence, it's also about the ability to find beauty and hope in the darkest of places.
Del Toro is a Spanish director who has made some entertaining Hollywood blockbusters (Blade 2 and Hellboy) in addition to some more subtly creepy Spanish speaking films (Cronos and The Devil's Backbone). The fantasy world of Pan's Labyrinth has a some wonderful imagery that blends the fairytale illustrations of Arthur Rackham with the nightmarish style of Francis Bacon.
'Surrounded by Giant Toads' - Arthur Rackham
'Figure With Meat' - Francis Bacon
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