ROTJ: GUILLERMO DEL TORO'S PAN'S LABYRINTH

The fact that this film made the top of hundreds of Best Film lists made me annoyed, but unsurprised, that my hometown Butthole, USA would wait weeks to get it here. However, it was the fact that it was Del Toro's next film that made me insane about it. Del Toro, he of the Hellboy, Blade 2, and The Devil's Backbone coolness. After Hellboy, Del Toro decided to go back and make another low budged personal film, much like Devil's Backbone, and now we have Pan's Labyrinth. I was a little disturbed by how the film was being marketed, since it concentrated solely on the fairy tale aspects of the story. It is not a classic fairy tale. Rather it is a dual narrative with a young girl coming to live with her pregnant mother and new stepfather (a cruel military officer) at an outpost in the forest as he tries to crush a rebellion during the Spanish Civil War, and her journey (whether real or imagined) into a world of fairy tale, guided by a faun. Yes Lameos...it's subtitled, and 3 people discovered this during the first 5 minutes and walked out. I rounded up a great crew of people to see this, including Lovely Sheena B-N, fellow poster Gallac & Jamin, and the Dark One...Lazenby. We all shared the same opinion: IT WAS A WORK OF ART. Possibly Del Toro's finest film thus far, it works on multiple levels and doesn't miss any depth for including so many things. It amazes me how some truly fantastic films can include so many things done right, while others fail in the attempt of painting a masterpiece...and it ends up shallow. The acting was amazing, and that's everyone involved in the picture. Ivana Banquero, the little girl playing Ofelia in the film, is absolutely amazing, and on her way to being a huge "Dakota Fanning-like" star. The special effects with the creatures and the other worlds will amaze you, and make you forget that this film is indeed a low-budged artistic project. However, it's Del Toro's ability to render the tragic need for escapism of a little girl caught in an impossibly cruel situation, a mother's inability to help her child though she loves her, the cruelty men who believe they are "right" are capable of, and then manages to wrap them all up in a fairy tale context that will break your heart that makes this film spectacular. I admit to being "moved" once, near the end...and challenge anyone who is not machine or cylon not to be. I saw this film this year, so I'm sure it will end up on my top 10 for '07, but if it was last year...like everyone else in the civilized world, then I'd rank it after The Fountain and Children of Men. I give it a 5 out of 5, and recommend it heartily to the tasteful cinema lover. Now, like many of you, I await Del Toro's next project...Hellboy 2.