Dark and brilliant, like a black diamond, Pan's Labrynth (or El is a foreign film treasure. Here we see two stories entwined. Somewhere in Spain around the year 1944, fascist soldiers are hunting down rebels in the hills. A young girl, Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) and her pregnant mother, Carmen (Araidna Gil) are coming to join her step-father, Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez) a sadistic officer in the Spanish army. To still her bright and tender daughter's worries about herself and her unborn brother, Ofelia's mother encourages her to loose herself in the wonder of the written word and to tell her stories. So violent and cold is the Captain that sympathizers among the villagers, like the doctor and the servant Mercedes, go about their furtive endeavors with hearts beating like frantic birds in a cage. ****

On the flip side of this tale, is another which seems at first but a distant hope, a means of escaping the harsh realities she that have been thrust upon her. Yet so vivid and rich in its colors and complexities is this fairy tale realm that sullen and bleak Reality looks seems lifeless beside this new world that opens for our heroine. We see young Ofelia wander off a bit as her mother is ill at the side of the road to replace a stone eye in an ancient carving along the road to her new future. This act appears to turn a forgotten key in a timeless door. Fairy creatures are soon making their way deeper and deeper into her life as Ofelia finds herself living at the edge of a strange maze and mossy ruins. Pan, an elderly but powerful faun, Guardian of this mystical place, tells her the story of a most beloved Faerie princess who's soul was accidentally released into the Mortal world. ****

"A long time ago, in the underground realm, where there are no lies or pain, there lived a Princess who dreamed of the human world. She dreamed of blue skies, soft breeze, and sunshine. One day, eluding her keepers, the Princess escaped. Once outside, the brightness blinded her and erased every trace of the past from her memory. She forgot who she was and where she came from. Her body suffered cold, sickness, and pain. Eventually, she died. However, her father, the King, always knew that the Princess' soul would return, perhaps in another body, in another place, at another time. And he would wait for her, until he drew his last breath, until the world stopped turning..." They have, Pan tells her, been searching for her for a very long time...****

This film is entirely in Spanish but does have English subtitles available. This is never a drawback to a truly good movie, in my opinion, and I would usually rather read subtitles than witness an attempted dubbing. Director Guillermo Del Toro not only did a fabulous job in this regard, but he actually is listed as having written the screenplay as well and had a strong hand in the subtitles not trusting them to be translated by others. Rated R for graphic scenes and some language, so be warned. This film really does deserve the rating although there are actually only a handful of disturbing scenes in the film. The effects and sets are simply stunning in their beauty and gleam against the velvety dark backdrop of the real world story that unfolds, like leaves, around the flower of the more beautiful fairy tale within. ****

Each of the actors delivers a unique and talented portion of the tale. Captain Vidal is the frigid, self-centered sociopath who has been given a sanctioned outlet for his darkest desires. He is more concerned that his son "be born where his father is" than he is with the safety and well-being of either mother or child. Carmen is so desperate to make the best of this new future than she unwittingly brings about her own destruction when she breaks Pan's spell and thrusts away the seemingly childish attempts at magically curing her of the ills she suffers from this difficult pregnancy. Young Ofelia is a marvelous blend of fantasy and reality. She never doubts the magic welling up around her, with the wonder of a child she opens doors drawn from chalk, and strives to accomplish the three magical tasks given to her that will return her to her rightful place as a Princess in the Faerie realm. Yet, she sees with an unflinching and tender honesty the danger of her mother's pregnancy, the perils pointed at her much beloved and as yet unborn brother, and the menace in her step-father's icy smile.****

I was particularly touched by the portrayals of two minor characters though. A rebel who was captured and tortured by the Captain moved me with his attempt to win his freedom by beating his horrible stutter in a very tense situation. All he had to do was count to three without stuttering and he could have flown free of the pain awaiting him. The actor made this moment so real for me that I held my breath, hoping. And the Doctor who attends this poor soul after the torture. This relatively quiet and timid man faces his own fears and disobeys the Captain's direct orders to bring relief to this child-like rebel in monstrous pain. "To obey, just like that, without question...that is something only people like you can do, Captain." He tells him in a sad small voice, knowing the retribution he is facing. His quiet acceptance brought tears to my eyes, for such is the beauty of the human soul in dark moments. ****

"Innocence Has A Power Evil Cannot Imagine." is the tagline for this film and it is far more fitting than most. The entire goal of this film seems to be simply to illustrate this point as beautifully and tragically as possible. So real is Ofelia's magical world that the "real" world seems drab and faded by comparison, like a cardboard cutout of the real world; a stiff and lifeless imitation. Powerful, moving, beautifully depicted this dark fairy tale allows one to accept or reject it's potential realities as you wish. It is easy to say that Pan's Labrynth is a dream Ofelia spun for herself to escape the harsh realities of the life she was living, yet if it were all dream would her mother have died as a result of breaking Pan's spell? Subtle evidence that both realities are equally true is scattered throughout the film, although the ultimate decision is up to the individual viewer. ****

This film earned the Academy Awards for best cinematography, best art direction and best make-up, and inspired the song "Pnuemonia" by Bjork. It received 22 minutes of applause at the Cannes festival and in 2007 was one of the very few fantasy films to ever be nominated in Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars. Available from New Line Home Video as of May 15 2007, there is a single disc bare bones edition available with little more than a variety of subtitle selections as extras. The more exciting 2 disc edition features: a Director's Notebooks, The Charlie Rose Show interview, a commentary track by the director, the featurettes "The Power of Myth" "Director's Prologue" "Marketing Campaign", "The Color and the Shape" and "The Lullaby" as well as photo galleries of Pan and the Fairies. Perhaps the most interesting bit of trivia that I happened across was that Del Toro, who is infamous for keeping elaborate notes and sketches, accidently left his notes for this film in the back of a taxi! Thinking it was lost forever, he was delightfully surprised when the driver tracked him down at his own time and expense to return the notes to him. Del Toro took this as an omen and became determined to create this haunting film.****

Image and Sound: 1.85:1 ratio aspect and both Dolby and Surround Sound available

While the commentary was very detailed and intriguing, the "Marketing Campaign" really just lists trailers and poster designs and doesn't address how this film was not as competently marketed as it could have been. This is an R rated film for a reason and I believe the trailers inadequately prepare potential viewers for the dark subject matter and occasional scenes of brutality. This film was most definitely not intended for very young viewers. Although, I can say that I viewed this with two reasonably mature children ages 14 and 10 who have been raised to deal with similar topics that are more than amply discussed and displayed on an average daily newscast. With proper marketing, this would not have been such an issue for parents looking for a film appropriate for their children as well as entertaining to themselves as every parent knows best what their child can and cannot handle. "The Lullaby" focuses on the film's lovely musical score. While this was not the most compelling extra for me, it is a welcome addition none the less. ****

I particularly enjoyed the "Power of Myth" featurette as I am an avid fairy tale reader and collector. I was especially interested in learning about the director's inspirations and influences for this wonderfully dark and vivid tale. While brief at 15 minutes, it is well worth watching in my opinion and a good addition to the set. "The Color and Shape" focuses on the del Toro's use of color in the film to evoke a specific feel, which really does support the film throughout. While interesting this was not as riveting for me as the "Myth" feature or the "Pan and the Fairies" extra which explores the marvelous visual effects in this film. ****

I found the entire sequence with the Pale Man to be eerie and gruesomely fascinating, so finding more on that specific scene in the extras was a real treat for me.Doug Jones as both the Pale Man, a sort of fairy demon that Ofelia must overcome, and as Pan himself was utterly fascinating. He was the only American actor in the film and the only one who did not speak Spanish. He faces some rather unique challenges in these roles. He had to learn not only his own lines in Spanish but all of Ofelia's lines that precede his so he would know his cues. The servos in his headpiece as the Pale Man were so loud that he couldn't actually hear her speak the lines though! Not only did it take five hours for Mr. Jones to get into the Pale Man costume, but once in it, he had to look out the nose holes to see where he was going. In addition, the Faun's (Pan's) legs were a specially created system in which the actor's legs puppeteer the faun's fake ones, and his legs were later digitally removed. These things considered, it makes both performances doubly impressive and no less magical. ****

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