Pan's Labirynth

Starring Carmen Vidal, Ivana Baquero, Segi Lopez, Maribel Verdu.
Directed by Guillermo Del Toro.

Summary
This is a foreign film. Spanish is spoken and subtitles are used. It takes place in Fascist Spain in 1944. A pregnant mother and his young daughter to go live with the mother's new husband, Captain Vidal, who oversees a local fortress of the Fascists. The daughter, Ofelia, loves fairy tales, and ends up being invited into an amazing fairy tale world as the Facists deal with rebels who continue to fight for their cause. As the mother fights for her failing health, the rebels continue to try to stay alive and retain hope against the sadistic Captain Vidal. Meanwhile servants in the Fascist fortress aid the rebels, and Ofelia attempts to accomplish tasks given to her by a Faun who believes her to be a princess in need of restoration to her kingdom.

Review
This movie was truly unique. I had major aspects of fantasy, but I would not call it a fantasy movie. It was dramatic, intense, heartbreaking, terrifying, and overwhelmingly moving. As you watch, you wonder about the things Ofelia is experiencing. At times you are certain that she is imagining everything, and at other times you wonder. In fact, in the end there is still a little part of you that wonders.
The movies deals powefully with pain, loss, and, most of all, hope. Hope is really powerful when it has a lot to overcome, and, in this movie, hope had a lot to overcome. I have to say that every time Captain Vidal was on the screen, I was squirming in my seat. I was so scared that he was going to hurt someone (he did hurt many people). He was downright scary to me. I feel sick to my stomach even writing about it because it really did deal with the reality of human cruelty and of oppression. Ofelia was beautiful, sacrificial, and hopeful. The mother was tender and tragic. The rebels were inspiring. The performances were good. The imagery was amazing. The story was incredibly compelling. It was a unique and powerful movie.

Question for Thought
This movie dealt powerfully with the reality of hope and pain. It even posed the question of whether or not we find meaning through pain. This is not just in a Matrixesque, we-want-to-be-miserable, way. It was a way in which we make sense of the world. Perhaps pain and meaning are not opposed, but somehow connected.
Do we find meaning through pain? Not just in spite of pain, but because of pain. Specifically, does the reality of hope in the midst of pain, teach of real meaning? There is a lot in the Bible about suffering as believers (Romans 8:17 comes to mind). Think about it.

Overall
I have to commend this movie. It was unique and I was very glad that I saw it. It moved me throughout, although I wanted it to be over at times because it was so gut-wrenching. The portrayal of hope, though, was so powerful. Maybe only The Shawshank Redemption is a more powerful movie about hope. The final scene made me cry and made me smile at the same time. I really admired the director, Guillermo Del Toro on this one.

Rating: 4 Stars out of 5 possible.