Pan's Labyrinth

peaseblossom and I went to see Pan's Labyrinth last night (7:15 showing) and I believe it is the most beautiful adult fairy tale I have ever seen brought to the big screen. The imagery is vidi, the setting told so eloquently and the story emerges from the visuals in a way that really hit me.

While the story involves a little girl on the edge of adult hood, this is not a story for kids. Its secret world where the through the looking glass and the real one are intermixed, and at the end the same, is just not meant for them. The movie is often joyless, but Del Toro uses that as his technique for telling a rich story that reverberates for me on both a personal and a political level.

That being said Del Toro shows his roots. The obvious nods to Alice, Never Ending Story, peter Pan, Narnia, Dorothy and others was heartwarming and more importantly honest, something I don't always feel from a lot of film makers.

Set in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War I couldn't help but place this mentally as part of a series with The Devil's Backbone. Though I thought it was a much stronger movie in every way. (And I really enjoyed Devil's Backbone)

In short, see this movie.