If you haven't seen Pan's Labyrinth you should catch it while its in theaters. A positively creepy film in which a little girl intertwines her fantasies with the tragic reality around her. Very well done. (Do not bring children.)

The film is set in post-Civil War northern Spain, in 1944. A young girl, Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), moves with her pregnant mother Carmen (Ariadna Gil), and her stepfather Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez), into a new home in the countryside. Vidal and his small army have been sent to the remote area to rid it of a small Republican militia.

Ofelia, who often immerses herself in ancient stories and fairy tales, finds an immense and ancient labyrinth near her new home. There, she meets a faun (Doug Jones) who reveals that she is the long-lost daughter of the King of the Underworld, and that to regain entry to her kingdom she must carry out three tasks. The faun gives her a storybook, which will tell her the details of the tasks.

This film is excellent. I saw it a few weeks ago and should have posted about it then. Highly recommended.

Decius wrote:

The film is set in post-Civil War northern Spain, in 1944. A young girl, Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), moves with her pregnant mother Carmen (Ariadna Gil), and her stepfather Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez), into a new home in the countryside. Vidal and his small army have been sent to the remote area to rid it of a small Republican militia.

Ofelia, who often immerses herself in ancient stories and fairy tales, finds an immense and ancient labyrinth near her new home. There, she meets a faun (Doug Jones) who reveals that she is the long-lost daughter of the King of the Underworld, and that to regain entry to her kingdom she must carry out three tasks. The faun gives her a storybook, which will tell her the details of the tasks.

If you haven't seen Pan's Labyrinth you should catch it while its in theaters. A positively creepy film in which a little girl intertwines her fantasies with the tragic reality around her. Very well done. (Do not bring children.)

[ Agreed. This is quite simply a beautiful film. It's brilliantly filmed and lush without being an orgy of special effects. The effects serve the story as opposed to the all-too-common reverse. The acting is universally excellent but Ivana Baquero's Ofelia is, i think, just unbelievably fine. She captures a complex balance of innocence and maturity with intelligence and love and courage just perfectly. The movie is alternately heartbreaking and wonderful and moving.

Anyway, I agree too that the theatre is the way to see this one... not that your 52 inch HD plasma won't do a good job, but really, you shouldn't wait.

I've been looking forward to this for some time and was not disappointed. If anything, my expectations were exceeded.

Go see it. See it now. -k]