El Laberinto del Fauno

A couple months back I saw this trailer on the Apple movies site. Immediately after watching the trailer, I knew that I had to see this film when it came out. During the Christmas holiday, I was able to find one theatre that was showing this film. My sibs and I went to go check it out and man was I right. I loved it. So here goes the review. The film title actually didn't make much sense to me because the actual foreign title translated would be The Faun's Labyrinth. Who the hell is Pan? The film is set during WW2, 1944 rural Spain to be exact. The main character, Ofelia (she's rad), and her mother are sent to live with her step father in the woods. We then are introduced to this adoptive father who's a military captain tasked with destroying the rebels. Man is this guy a dick and boy is he evil. Also, Ofelia's mother is pregnant with Captain JACK-OFF's kid (his acting is too good really, he makes me hate him). They arrive to the house which is also a fortification where they meet the rest of the characters in the film. Because of the mother's pregnancy and illness, Ofelia is often on her own. In her loneliness, she creates a world filled with fantastical creatures and imaginative destinations. That's basically what the film is about. But it's not totally fantasy. I'd say the film is more 25% fantasy and 75% realism. I’d go deeper into the plot but I don’t want to spoil anything.

Oh, there’s side story that I wanted to share. I went to the theatre during matinee to watch the film. Upon purchase, I asked for 3 tickets. The lady looked at me and asked if she could see my ID. I was like," oh crap, we get a student discount?" She then said, "No, the film is rated R. Can I see some ID?" I was shocked! Shocked! I'm 25 years old. And if you think about it, I'd have to look younger then 17 to be not eligible to watch the film. That lady was dumb. She must have been blind.

So yes, ladies and gentlemen, the film is rated R. You must be wondering why this film is rated R when it's clearly a fantasy film? Boy, are you in for a surprise. This movie is pretty damn gruesome. The characters are cool as hell, but they are pretty creepy looking. But the war scenes are pretty jacked up. People get blown up and stuff and you see it. Cooool! I give the film 2 thumbs way up. Check it out. My favorite scene in the film is task #2 with the retrieval of the dagger. Damn, so cool. Enjoy!