Pan's Labyrinth (El laberinto del fauno)

Three things you should know about Pan's Labyrinth right off the bat:
1) It is in Spanish
2) It is bloody and has scenes of intense violence
3) It is amazing.

This dark and twisted tale takes place in fascist Spain- where a young girl, Ofelia,  learns that she is the reincarnated princess of the underworld (which is a warm and golden place- not the river Styx, eternal punishment we think of). Her earthly father has died in the war, and as a means of survival, Ofelia's mother marries a violent and abusive army officer. They move to the countryside, where the step-father is the commander of an outpost, constantly warring with the native rebels. Ofelia longs to escape into her books and fairy stories- and soon enough, she is smack in the middle of the deepest rabbit hole anyone could ever hope to escape from. However, instead of absconding from the dangerous world of war into a safe one- she finds that magical world she wants so desperately to be a part of, can be far more traitorous than anything on the surface.

I can honestly say that I've never been so excited for subtitles in my life. Even though I'm a proficient Spanish speaker, I did not want to miss a second of this raw and cutting picture- the darkest of dark fairy tales. I like to think of Director Guillermo Del Toro as the Mexican Tim Burton- his movies are often dark and tenebrous, dealing with morbid themes- but making them colorful and attractive- very hard to do indeed.

To understand his vision- you have to have a glimpse at this visionary filmographer. He grew up in Mexico, raised by a devout catholic grand mother- therefore each of his movies have some symbolism of the catholic faith; even it it's only a crucifix, rosary or a prayer- you can count on it. His father was a victim of a kidnapping, in which he was held for ransom for over two months; therefore his films often deal with the twisting dark of the underground. More often than not, his films involve subway tunnels- but in Pan's Labyrinth- it takes us into the lurid lair of a child-eating monster-or under the roots of a great tree, where a giant toad lives. He spent many years doing makeup & special effects before he dove into directing full time; and boy has it paid off. His characters are flawless.

As much as I would love to watch this movie over and over again, to find new details in the settings, new dimensions to the actors- I simply couldn't. Pan's Labyrinth takes me to a very dark place- of which I can only visit a few times a year. Please, do not watch this movie if you are looking for something uplifting and magical- for while it is spellbinding, it's morose nature can sit under your skin like a surgical implant.