Pans Labyrinth Review

Director Guillermo del Toro's Spanish film Pans Labyrinth is a movie that can be called scary, beautiful, horrifying, imaginitive, magical, grotesque, sweet, bloody, hopefull, and utterly bizarre. Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, Pans Labyrinth is a film that can fullful most anyones expectations. Del Toro's film manages to create a mature, adult movie and mix it with a child's bed time story.
Pans Labyrinth is set in 1940's Spain against the postwar repression of Franco's Spain, starring young Ivana Baquero as captain Vidal's [Sergi Lopez] daughter Ofelia. Ofelia, wishing for an escape from the vicious war being fought around her, is drawn into a fantasy world that is just as dangerous as the one she wants to leave. Ofelia pours herself into one of her most treasured possesions, a book of fairy tales that she keeps close to her at all times. Ofelia's adventure begins when she befriends Mercedes [Maribel Verdu], the housekeeper. Mercedes shows Ofelia the labyrinth, where she explores, and finds a Faun [Doug Jones] who gaurds the passage between her world and the fantasy world.
The Faun sends Ofelia on increasingly difficult chalenges to prove that she is the one he is looking for, a lost and forgotten princess, and a chance to pass over to the fantasy world she desperatly wants to live in. In her journey, she will come to terms with the fears of the world she wants to leave and the fears and dangers of her own imagination.
Edited by Bernat Vilaplana, the film will scare and intrige you with its fairytale nature and gruesome scenes. Pans labyrinth could be compared to Alice in Wonderland, though this version is not ment for children, due to most of its grafic nature. Del Toro's film shows the darker side of human nature through a childs eyes in a fantasy world. He crafts the best of human nature and the worst of it in one explosive film. Although the film Spanish, produced with English subtitles, the viewers have no problem understanding what is going on, with Del Toro's exelent use of photography and his filming styles.
Pans Labyrinth was a relatable film; you could put yourself in any of the characters shoes and the film seems to put you in their place. Besides its fairytale nature, the movie seemed to be spot on in protraying the viciousness war, the love one person can give to another, and what it would be like to have a war fought on your doorstep.
Filming locations included Bariloche, Argentina, Madrid, and Spain. The directer used mostly quick shots during action sequences, but switched to longer shots whenever the characters were in an open space. During some of the more grotesqe scenes in the film, the shots were longer, as if to make the viewer unconfortable, and to let us relate to the character in that moment of terror, or violence. The film used classical music, although letting all sounds be heard, especially during the fighting, and war scenes.