Pan's Labyrinth (Mexico, 2006) January 17, 2007

Guillermo del Toro's stunningly beautiful new film, 'Pan's Labyrinth,' dramatically evokes the power of imagination and rebellion. The year is 1944. The Spanish Civil War is over. In a remote rural area of Northern Spain, a Fascist army battalion, led by the ruthless Captain Vidal (Sergi Lopez), is hunting down a small band of the defeated Republican forces. Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) is an innocent young girl who lives in a vivid world of books and dreams. Her widowed mother, Mercedes (Maribel Verdu), has recently married Captain Vidal, and is now pregnant with his child. Caught in a society torn between the oppressive Fascist dictatorship and the last gasps of Republicanism, Ofelia increasingly escapes into an elaborate fantasy world. In the unforgettable finale her two universes come together and this little girl has to take a stand against Captain Vidal's Fascism.