this story is overwhelmingly breath-takingby Emily_C123

Reader Rating:
See Detailed Ratings

October 12, 2009: If you are an imaginative, dreamy person like me who looks every day for a way to excape the monotonous numbness of reality , Pans Labyrinth is the movie for you. This movie is extrvagantly inspirational and bears magnificent story-telling that pulls you into the story and makes you wonder why it has taken so long for someone to find a way to intertwine a realistic conflict like war with fantasy. This movie is told in the beautiful language of spanish which adds to the mystery and idulgence of uniquness. I've never seen or heard of any story like this and I don't want to tell you anything about it, you'll want to find out every detail for yourself. I hope you can enjoy this exalting poetic story of fantasy, adventure, and bravery.

This review was written about the HD-DVD edition.

A deadly imagination: Pan's Labyrinthby Anonymous

Reader Rating:
See Detailed Ratings

May 31, 2009: If a crusty old faun told you that you were the princess of the underworld and you had to complete three grueling tasks in order to go through a portal in a dark, empty labyrinth, would you believe him? I'm guessing, no, you'd run the other way, fast. But to 10-year-old, fantasy-obsessed Ofelia, that's music to her ears.

After the Spanish Civil War, young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) and her pregnant mother (Aridana Gil) travel to live with her new stepfather in an old mill inhabited by the Spanish Army in the deep woods of fascist Spain. Fighting the rebel forces hidden in the woods, Ofelia's stepfather (Sergi López) is consumed with pride and obedience. He ignores his new wife and Ofelia, and she desperately needs a way to escape. At night, a fairy leads Ofelia to the abandoned labyrinth behind the mill. Now, I really can't imagine why anyone in their right mind would follow a flying creature into a dark, chilling maze in the dead of night, but that's just me. In the center of the gloomy labyrinth is an ancient faun. He explains to Ofelia that she is a long-lost princess, but must first accomplish three daunting tasks to prove her royalty. Alright, this is the part where you run! But brave little Ofelia accepts her challenge and embarks on a journey only created by her imagination. The first task: go inside a dying fig tree, crawl through the mud and insects, find a giant toad, and get a golden key from inside it. She feeds the toad three magical rocks, and suddenly, it turns inside out. Seriously, the orange toad guts look more like a mound of bubbling cheese. Ignoring the disgusting nature of the task, Ofelia grabs the big rusty key, and is ready for her next challenge. The old faun returns and proudly tells her of her new task. That night, Ofelia draws a door on the wall with a piece of magic chalk, and it opens to a deadly world. She walks through a series of corridors and ends up in a hall with a magnificent feast. Sitting dormant at the end of the table is a large, pale beast, with long black fingernails encrusted with blood. On the wall, there are paintings of the creature consuming little children like popcorn. With any sense at all, you realize now is the time you leave! But defiant Ofelia can't be swayed like a mere mortal such as myself. Getting to the point of her mission, Ofelia uses the key to open a compartment containing a shiny silver dagger. Time is running out, and as Ofelia begins to leave, she eyes a bowl of crisp, juicy grapes. Alright, if that had been me, the second I got the dagger, I'd be high-tailing it to the door. But unable to resist temptation, Ofelia eats the grapes. At that moment, the pasty monster awakens and chases after Ofelia. She narrowly escapes using the magical chalk to create a door. In all seriousness now, if a pale, child-eating monster isn't enough of a clue to ditch the faun and his fairy friends, then I don't know what is. Yet, Ofelia still won't give up on the fairytale fantasies. Given one last task, and one final chance to succeed, the faun demands Ofelia bring her infant brother to the labyrinth. Loyally, she obliges and takes him, narrowly escaping the reaches of her ruthless stepfather. Inside the horrific maze, the faun wishes to prick the infant with the dagger, spilling innocent blood and opening the portal to the underworld. Unwilling to allow her brother to be harmed, Ofelia courageously disinclines his order. Instead, her own blood is spilled. This decision and...

This review was written about the DVD Subtitled / Dubbed edition.