'Pan's Labyrinth' tells the tale of post-war Spain in 1944. A young and imaginative girl, Ofelia travels with her pregnant and sick mother Carmen Vidal to the country to meet and live with her stepfather, the sadistic and cruel Captain Vidal, in an old mill. During the night, Ofelia meets a fairy and together they go to a pit in the centre of a maze where they meet a faun that tells that she is a princess from a kingdom in the underground.

The film is very much an adult fairly tale, filled with violence, misjudgement, pressure and bleak surroundings, it's not really a film for children. 'Pan's Labyrinth' takes a new and daring spin on the common outlook of a children's film narrative and packs a punch through the heart of it.
With gorgeous cinematography, incredible set design and just wonderful costumes, this film is a real treat for even the most narrow-minded film viewer. Guillermo Del Toro has captured something that's almost impossible to grasp, his direction of this film has stamped Spanish cinema with a degree of excellence.
The character-viewer bond in this film is much higher than in any other foreign language picture. The audience really feels for Ofelia and Pan, along with waitress Mercedes.
This film gives modern cinema a breath of fresh air, nothing has ever been made quite like this and nothing will ever be as good as this either. True passion and craftsmanship went into the production of this film, something that not all directors endure. Del Toro is famous for magnificent character design such as Hellboy and his latest task, The Hobbit, but in this film, his twisted mind has made beauty from the beast.

'Pan's Labyrinth' is not only a great film in every single way possible but also it's so important. This film shows hope in the new direction of European cinema, we're finally taking a step away from the horrid CGI-covered Hollywood dribble and inventing our own source of entertainment, and this film is the starting point.

It's gloomy, dark, morbid, earth-shattering, well written, fantastically directed, brilliantly acted and just totally essential.
'Pan's Labyrinth' will be the film to change your perception on cinema, the film to bring tears to your eyes and hope to your heart, the film that will just blow you away.

I advise everyone to at least see this film, if not own it. Even if you cannot stand subtitles, just give this film a go, you won't be disappointed.

Pan's Labyrinth is an adult fairytale, come on how often do you hear that! It combines the imagination of a young girl with the harsh reality of life throughout WW2. I love Del Toro's work, with the exception of Hellboy, and this is the best thing he's done yet, its fantastic. This film got loads of good reviews and well deserved them.

The film has stunning cinematography and is beautifully shot throughout. All the performances in the film are great too. The film is just so good and i would recommend it to anyone who loves watching movies.

5 star film (directing/cinematography)
4.5 star product (make a collectors special edition)

5 stars overall.

I cannot recommend this film highly enough. It's beautiful. It's very, very sad. Yet it has hope...you can feel for Ofelia...you can feel her hope and wonderment. In fact, if you don't like subtitles, go and take Spanish, and then rent this film in its native tongue and enjoy it. You cannot miss it.

I watched this film full of anticipation, and it did blow me away- what an inventive, brilliant movie! Something of this originality and genre is one of the rarest I have witnessed by far. The true ongoing story of the Spanish 'Maquis' nearing the end of WW2 mixed with Ofelio's quest in a magical world doesnt blend, has stark differences and is told beautifully from both angles. I do, however, believe this is in the majority an adult drama, followed then by an adult fantasy. Unmissable for all movie fans.

Pan's Labyrinth is a fantastic story looking into how a young girl copes with the trauma that Post-war repression in Spain brings.
It is at times violent, but this is not intended to disgust the audience and is a good representation of these times of Civil war.
The subtitles are not an issue and if anything I think they add to the film, i'd rather hear the Spanish people talking Spanish than English.
It is a very creative way of expressing how people view the terrible facist regime in Spain of the time.

Guillermo del Toro's best film. The fact that the movie is spanish dosen't matter. This will always be one of the best films, I have ever seen. Buy it, rent it or borrow it, so you can enjoy this master piece.

Guillermo del Toro's best film, he's the best director and the film is beautifully unbelievable, fantasticly amazing.
Young girl Ofelia is caught between her vicious stepfather Vidal and Pan's fantasy world.

This is one of the darkest most brutal films I have ever seen,a lot of the brutality is in the viewers imagination, helped along by the screams .
It isnt at all what I was expecting (I gave it away the next day)something about it made me want it out of the house.Beautifully filmed,the subtitles where a little off putting,all in all not a film I would put on my to see again list.

Whilst the spanish audio and subtitles may put some people off, for those who are not put off this is quite possibly the most beautiful, brutal, moving and arresting film I've seen in years. Absolutely breathtaking in execution and plot. Awe-inspiring and disturbing at a turn. Simply put: Un-missable. Truly a work of art. Buy this film!

One word sums this film up AMAZING!! what a great story.