Reaction: Pan's Labyrinth

That's funny - I don't remember doping up before the movie started but I had one hell of an acid trip... Despite previous explorations into foreign film from time to time, nothing could've prepared me for El Laberinto del Fauno. Certainly not the promotional materials... I mean you had to wonder if the guys cutting together the trailers even watched the movie. One thing's for sure, director Guillermo Del Toro was up front about it when he said it was "a fairy tale for adults." Please don't bring your kids to this... it's rated 14A for good reason.

I'm not sure if a dub has been produced, but the version showing around here is the original Spanish film with English subtitles and it was a surprisingly smooth viewing experience. Not sure if my experience with subbed videos helped, but everything slid into place very nicely and I didn't miss a bit of the action.

And there is action... lots of graphic violent action. Not at the level of a pure horror film, but there was definitely gore involved. People getting beaten to death, cut up, shot, stabbed... the Spanish civil war of the 1940's was not a pretty time to be hanging around Europe.

The setting is 1944 Spain and the Franco military is fighting a guerrilla resistance. Ofelia has traveled with her very pregnant but also very sick mother to a remote outpost where her stepfather is in charge of the local fascist group of thugs. And then things go totally Alice-in-Wonderland...

While we've been seeing a large dragonfly buzzing around, little Ofelia has been convinced it is a fairy... and the fairy goes on to lead her into the woods where an ancient stone maze hides a secret portal to an "underworld" waiting for their reincarnated princess to arrive... The plot follows Ofelia's efforts to complete 3 tasks given to her by a faun creature living in the maze - a creature who assures her that her destiny lies with them. But what price is she willing to pay to get there?

Ultimately this is a story of hope (in a most extremely desperate time if there ever was one) and the choices of morality we must make. But then, isn't every good fairy tale rooted in learning something about oneself? I'm giving this movie 2 very enthusiastic thumbs up.