• Director/Writer:        Guillermo del Toro
  

• Producer (s):    Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuaron, Bertha Navarro, Frida Torresblanco & Alvaro Augustin.
  

• Starring:       Ivana Baquero, Doug Jones, Sergi Lopez, Maribel Verdu, Ariadna Gil & Alex Angulo
  

• Country:        Mexico & Spain
  

• Language:        Spanish  
  

'Pan's Labyrinth's audio is in its native Spanish language.  To fully enjoy the effect of the film--it is highly recommended that you enjoy the original language version with English subtitles--without English voice dubbing.

When I tell you that Pan's Labyrinth is the prize of my foreign movie collection--you will soon see why.  I am a huge fantastic fan of Guillermo Del Toro. His movies have such artistic vision, depth and creativity--as if he has the mind of a mad scientist and is so freakishly awesome that I almost explode when discussing his work with others.   Pan's Labyrinth (2006) is not just one of his best movies so far--it is the most visually captivating movie of all time!

Ah such beauty! Such a marvel this movie is--and it is a fairy tale for adults written by Guillermo Del Toro. The movie starts out like a fairy tale--a princess that was so curious about the world of man that she stole away from her protectors and climbed long stairs to the surface of our world. As soon as the she see the sunlight--she loses her memory of who she was and where she came from. On the surface world, she became cold and died with her soul lost in the world of man for all eternity. Depending on what you may believe--the soul is eternal! Her father, the King knows of this truth and is aware that his daughter's spirit will soon return to him. Therefore, he sent messengers--fairies to the top world to look for signs of his daughter so that he can return her back to her kingdom.

Now in comes the star of the movie, Ofelia (Ivana Baquero). Ofelia reminds me so much of myself--always reading books and dreaming of fairy tales and the unknown. Her mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil) pregnant with her little brother, is the only person in her reality--for now. Her mother was always very ill during her pregnancy and Ofelia would calm her little brother in her mother's tummy by reading to him. While on their way to meet, her mother's new husband--her new stepfather, her mother became ill and had to stop the car. Ofelia wanders off into the forest and she notices a stone out of place--then placed the stone back onto the statue. When she did this--some sort of locust appeared and Ofelia thinks it is a mythical creature--a fairy! It followed Ofelia to her stepfather's home and so began the beautiful tale--and the stunning creations of Del Toro!

Soon after meeting her new stepfather, Ofelia could tell right away that she would not be happy living there. As the movie progresses, she meets Mercedes (Maribel Verdu) who is kind and gentle to Ofelia (Mercedes plays a significant role in this tale). Well do you remember the locust I mentioned earlier? It came to visit her while she was reading before bed--it turns into a fairy right before her eyes--and lead her to a labyrinth not too far from her home. Within the labyrinth, she meets a faun--and this faun tells her that she is a long lost princess that her father has been searching for many lifetimes. He then sets Ofelia off on several tasks to prove that she is the long lost princess.

In the meantime--there is so much conflict and events that happens around Ofelia--not to forget mentioning the creatures she would meet on her quests! When I tell you that this is the most visually stunning movie--it is true. I also tell you that the story takes your imagination and your heart--that is true too. However, what I will not tell you is the specific details of this movie. Well ok, I will tell you that Ofelia meets a giant frog--the child eating pale man--yes, a child eating pale man. I will stop here.  Pan's Labyrinth is a movie to enjoy--you will immediately understand why I love this movie!

'What happens when make-believe believes it's real?' (2006) IMDb.

Pan's Labyrinth (2006) Dir. and written by Guillermo del Toro. Picturehouse.

'El laverinto del fauno' (2006). Pan's Labyrinth. IMDb.