Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) Guillermo del Toro

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) is twenty years old and I cannot believe it.  Guillermo del Toro is a master builder of worlds.  Ofelia’s reality is one of Franco’s Spain and a mother who is carrying the child of a captain in the Spanish army.  Then a faun tells her she is a lost princess and must complete some magical tasks to save her kingdom and restore herself to the throne.  Neither of these are a world I would care to live in byt Ofelia just gets on with it.  She meets fairies, fauns, magical frogs, and a Pale Man who eats children.  Which world is supposed to be better for this little adventurer? The Criterion discs are full of extras and it is astounding the breadth of knowledge that del Toro has on the mythical world.  It’s no wonder they are so complete and thoughtful even if they are terrifying.

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