El laberinto del fauno, or as it is more commonly known, Pan's Labyrinth, is the story of a girl, Ofelia, who has to go live with her cruel new stepfather, Captain Vidal. Ofelia strongly dislikes the place, but she then meets a faun who tells her she is the reincarnation of the princess of the underworld. To regain her immortality, she must complete three dangerous tasks that will prove if she really is the princess. With the help of a few faries that the faun gives her, Ofelia works on the tasks while helping her sick mother and evading her stepfather. In the end, Ofelia gains immortality, but she loses a lot of friends on the way.
This movie is in Spanish, but there are English subtitles. I think this movie is the perfect blend of action and fantasy. All of the actors did a wonderful job portraying their characters, even Ivana Baquero although she was only a child. What I love most about this movie, besides the awesome storyline, is the special effects. The Pale Man, which Ofelia meets in her second task, is perfectly gruesome and horrifying. Although I am not a fan of horror movies, I enjoyed the scary elements in this movie because of how well they were integrated and how wonderful they appeared on screen. This movie is definitely one of my favorite movies of all time.
