Pan's Labyrinth

"Innocence Has A Power Evil Cannot Imagine"





Pan's Labyrinth, also known as El Laberinto del Fauno in Spanish (The Labyrinth of The Faun), is a rather enthralling fairytale set during the post civil war period in Spain. Beware though, for unlike many other fairytales, Pan's Labyrinth revolves around a much darker and gothic setting.

Ofelia is a bright and dreamy young girl who takes an avid interest in fairytales and tales of long ago. One day, she travels with her heavily pregnant mother to an old, abandoned mill in rural spain. The mill had recently been converted to a Military outpost by her new stepfather, Captain Vidal, who had been assigned to that area in order to rid it of a remaining guerilla group. Disliked by her stepfather from the start, she explores the surrounding area and discovers an ancient Labyrinth nearby.

During her sleep on the first night, she was awoken by the presence of a "fairy", who proceeded to lead her into the Labyrinth, where she met a Faun who then explained to her that she may be the Princess of the Underworld. In ages past, the King of the Underworld had a daughter who wished to see the world above. Blinded by the sunlight, she lost all memories of who she was, and eventually perished. However, all believed that her soul remained and would one day find its way back to the Underworld in order to regain its rightful place.

The Faun then gave her the Book of Crossroads and told her that in order to prove her heritage and that she wasn't just a mere mortal, she had to complete three tasks before the next full moon in order to regain her place in the Underworld. Thus began Ofelia's deeply moving tale of courage and love. Faced by innumerous obstacles and horrors, she has to battle with the situations occuring around her both in the real world as well as the Fairy realm.

The show does a fantastic job at portraying the various events unfolding around Ofelia, moving the audience to emphatise with her, especially in the way she handles her sorrow and despair, yet remaining courageous in the face of danger. While the soundtrack was based mainly on the tune of a lullaby from the show, the various tracks aid in building up the suspense and anticipation leading to the climax of each scene, at the same time acting as a wonderful accompaniment.

Personally, I would rate this show a 9/10, subtracting 1 point due to the violence I didn't really like =p
(Realised that you can listen to the entire OST and attain more information about the film @ its official site, http://www.panslabyrinth.com )