Pan's Labyrinth Review

 I was at work one day and my friend phsyically stopped me from working to tell me about this movie. He couldn't get over how graphic the violence was. I thought to myself, "Well this sounds like my kind of movie." After watching it, I'm a little disturbed and surprised at how well this movie flowed.

Plot: In a fascist 1944 Spain, a mother and her young daughter move to a military base to live with her newly wedded husband, a terrible sadistic army officer. When the young girl discovers she's being followed by a sprite (fairy), she's thrust into a spooky, fantasy filled world. 

Now, that plot could sound like a kids movie, and that's was my first thought when I'd heard about it. But, about halfway throught the movie, you realize that no child should ever see this movie. For a child actor, Ivana Baquero, who plays the young daughter, Ofelia, does a wonderful job. Child actors are usually hit or miss. Some do amazingly well, and then some just cant handle the pressures of acting.  Thankfully for this movie, Ivana was a definite hit.  The set and costume design are dead on and really help bring the fantasy side of this movie to life. The rest of the cast does a good job also, rounding it out and making it a solid movie. 

The violence in this movie is extreme. It's got some of the best special effects I've ever seen, including one horrific scene where the sadistic army officer, Captain Vidal, has to sew his own mouth up after having it slit open. Truly disturbing. I don't want to give away all of the most violent parts, since that makes it no fun, but another of the extreme ones is when Captain Vidal repeatedly beats the face of a young farmer boy with a wine bottle.  There's no cut away, no anything, he picks up a bottle and smashes on him. Its a really terrifying sight, but good movies, in my opinion, should always have a few scenes like this one, that stay embedded in your memory.

All in all, this is a wonderfully planned and executed movie. The only setback, if you even wanna call it that, is that the movie is in Spanish. Thankfully the DVD has a selection of subtitles to choose from. Grab this movie, or rent it, but find a way to see it. You won't regret it.

MPAA Rating: R (for graphic violence and some language)

Runtime: 1 hour 59 minutes

Rating(out of 10): 8.5