an extraordinary masterpiece

Spain. 1944. Ofelia, a girl fascinated by fairy tales, is sent with her pregnant mother to meet and live with her new stepfather, Capitan Vidal, a particularly sadistic character. One night Ofelia meets a fairy, is told she is a princess and encounters the faun Pan. To prove her royalty, she must execute specific albeit gruesome tasks.

Sergi Lopez as the Capitan is excellent, as are the two leading actresses, Maribel Verdu (playing Vidal's housekeeper, Mercedes) and Ivana Baquero (Ofelia). The faun is magistrally played by Doug Jones.

An intense, brutal, beautiful, magical world is what makes this movie A MUST SEE, for it is quite the masterpiece, visually and artistically. The film definitely deserved its Oscar for best cinematography: Guillermo Navarro used wonderful lighting and techniques.

Brilliantly directed and masterfully written by Guillermo Del Toro, this is a movie FOR ADULTS.

(Warning: English subtitles only so far available on the DVDs.)


10/10