Labyrinth Of Fiction And Reality

This spanish movie managed to gain lots of attention and some well-deserved Oscar nominations. Indeed, its climb in imdb's top movie list is very impressive. Given my attraction to fantasy- related movies, I naturally checked it out. The pleasant surprise was that "Pan's Labyrinth" uses its fantasy elements in a very original way. Fantasy movies usually have very realistic messages or very strong allegories. In this case, we have a fantasy that is only a by-product of a very realistic story and empty of most meaning on its own. This is something that one can be very critical of, since the movie's main attraction are the special effects of its fantasy aspect. However, meaning and imagery are not qualities that are required to be present in a uniform way in order for a movie to achieve its purpose.
To be more specific, "Pan's Labyrinth" deals with a young girl's fascination with fairytales and the way this fascination is put to use when her life in fascism-plagued Spain takes an unpleasant turn. The realistic part of the movie is very reminiscent of some greek movies with similar theme. The portrayal of the dictators' evil and the rebels' heroics is very simple and direct, but also very effective. The fantasy part of the movie is there just to amaze the viewer with beautiful and/or disturbing images. It is very effective in this as well. The lack of a deeper message is no drawback. The sadness of the story, coupled with the original use of fantasy elements more than make up for it. Even though I hesitate to call it a masterpiece, it appears that internet movie-lovers seem to think so. I urge you to decide for yourself.