Pan's Labyrinth

Wow. That's all I could say after watching this one. I didn't really know what I was getting myself into except all I had heard was good and it was a children's movie? Well, I was wrong on part of that. This is setup like a fairytale, but this is more like something out of Aesop's Fables where people die and not everything is happy-go-lucky. This isn't a G-Rated American fairytale like 'Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pale of water.' This film takes place during the Spanish Civil War and is centered around a little girl whose mother has just married a fascist army officer. They move out into the country to where the Captain is because her mother is 8+ months pregnant and about to deliver the Captain's child. He feels like a baby needs to be born where its father is. We soon learn just what a horrible person this father-to-be is as we see him interact with his family, his soldiers and anyone else that gets in his way. This man will stop at nothing. On the trip, the girl, Ofelia, is reading a book about a fairy princess who finds her way into the human world and is trying to find her way back. In order to cope with the atrocities of her own life, Ofelia projects this story on her own life through her wonderful imagination. This is a very different take on fantasy from what most people are used to. There's no elves, goblins or ringwraiths in this film. This is the first time I've seen a movie with mythical characters that are good, yet scary looking. I was also physically on the edge of my seat in a couple parts of the movie and I can't say that happens very often while watching a movie. Many parts of this movie are about discovery and finding out just what will happen next. I highly recommend this movie to adults looking for a thought provoking imaginative film. Even though it's unrated, this would definitely receive an R-rating for violence and language. I think the story and morals portrayed are more than worth the objectionable content you might find while watching.