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Pan's Labyrinth


Pan's Labyrinth





The moon will be full in three days. Your spirit shall forever remain among the humans. You shall age like them, you shall die like them, and all memory of you shall fade in time.

I've owned this movie for several years and just finally watched this now. Why did it take so long? It looked right up my alley, the reviews were extremely positive and it won multiple Oscars. After watching it, I want to kick myself for not watching it earlier.

Del Toro gives us a depressing fairy tale, one that makes me question whether or not the events that took place were simply in the little girl's head or if they really happened. Either way, the film surprised me with the ending despite having the opening images be what they were. I guess I forgot about it and was wrapped up in the story telling.

Impressive make-up and creature design, as usual when dealing with a Del Toro film. He let's his creative juice flow all over this production. It helps that he didn't have Hollywood breathing down his neck to change the dark themes or fantasy elements about a pale, eyeless, sagging skin creature who eats children. That scenario is nightmare fuel.

I was surprised by how little time we spend in the fantasy world. The majority of the film takes place in Spain during the war. I was also surprised by how much time was dedicated to characters outside of Ofelia. The rebel uprising and spy network helped engage me further into the story and genuinely had me caring about multiple characters. Captain Vidal is an excellent villain, portrayed with just the right amount of wickedness to hate him.

Pan's Labyrinth is an excellent film, but I'm sure everyone is already aware of it as I'm late to the party.