Review: Pan's Labyrinth
It's that time of year when each new movie that opened late last year are heralded with many accolades as this years Academy Award nominations take shape. I had been tracking this movie for some time and immediately made plans to redeem my "Customer Loyalty" voucher. The film takes place in Spain, 1944. Ophelia, the heroine of the story, travels with her pregnant mother to live with her new stepfather. The stepfather is a decidedly cruel Captain in charge of Franco's forces to root out Communist resistance that still prevails in the mountainside. The stepfather could care less about Ophelia, and has more concern for his yet unborn son being carried by her mother. Ophelia is a dreamer, using fairy tales to escape the death of her real father, the sudden move to the country side, her stepfather and life. She comes face to face with a Faun who reveals to her that, in actuality, Ophelia is the daughter of a great king. Upon proving that she is not mortal, she may pass thr...