Pan's Labyrinth was a blind buy for me. I was rewarded for my gamble. I was surprised by how grounded the film was in balancing it's fantasy sequences with the drama of the Spanish Revolution and the venous Captain Vidal. I was frightened of the guy even when he was just shaving. He was a monster, scarier than even the creature with eyes in his hands surrounded by paintings of him killing and eating children. It's a sad, melancholy film with frightening and beautiful visions of fantasy and reality and the excitement when the two mingle. We are also granted the gift of a young heroine that I think will return in memories of viewers each time they see a new film with a little girl daydreaming of escape and tales of bravery and magic.
Is it real? I'm surprised I haven't heard more discussion of the matter. I didn't think the girl's fantasies were real at first (Vidal couldn't see Pan), but now I think otherwise (think of the dead blooming and paths opening).
I think the writer/director Guillermo Del Toro should be thanked not only stretching his imagination to create wonderous fantasy, but also using that same imagination to create such a engaging reality.
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