Hauntingly Beautiful (Pan's Labyrinth (2 DVDs))

Member Name: andyoz

Product:	Pan's Labyrinth (2 DVDs)
Date:	03/10/09 (28 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Amazingly Filmed

Disadvantages: Very Violent In Places

Pans Labyrinth came out back in October of 2006. At first it was not really that big a hit, a Spanish film without much hype. Since then thought the film has gone from strength to strength. A beautiful bewitching and dark fairy tale. This film is pure magic!

Pans Labyrinth tells the story of a young girl named Ofelia. She is a girl who loves to read and has a wonderful imagination. She needs this to escape from her life as she has just been taken away to live with her pregnant mother and her evil step father in the Spanish mountains. On the journey there Ofelia sees a stick insect that she thinks is a fairy and this little fairy leads her into all kinds of adventures. The fairy gives Ofelia various tasks she must complete and the adventures begin.

This is not a childrens film in any sense. There is some strong language and so really strong viloence. At one point the violence is quite sickening to be honest. The film is very dark and feels quite threatening I suppose you could say its quite scary in places.

The film in not in English so there are subtitles. But do not let this put you off as it really does not effect the film at all, it's still really easy to follow and its more of a visual film anyway.

I love the way this is filmed, its so beautiful and haunting. There is some real good imagination behind this and an excellent soundtrack to back up the great effects and story.

Guillermo del Toro is the director and writer if this film, I must admit have never heard of the guy or seen any of his other films, but if this is anything to go by they may well be worth having a look.

This film actually managed to win three oscars which really shows how classic a film this is. There were countless other awards and nominations that this film recieved.

The film itself runs for 119 minutes which I suppose is quite a long time, but the film really moves at a fast pace and you do not feel like you have been sat there for two hours at the end of it! There is plenty to keep the viewer interested.

The film is rated as a 15 and as I mentioned earlier there is some very strong content in this in the form of language and violence. This is not a childrens film despite the fact that it is a fairy tale.

The DVD is packed with extras including things like trailers, commentaries and other things. But if you buy this it should really be for the film itself and not the extras.

This is a truely wonderful film. Something that really took me by surprise and impressed me. One you really must watch!!

Summary: A Classic Film