Date Night Movie Review. Pan’s Labyrinth

Granted my date nights are later than most and normally consist of us staying at home renting a movie and watching it on the couch. I thought it only right to embark on reviewing our movie of the night. Tonight’s was Pan’s Labyrinth written and directed by Guillermo Del Toro.   The movie starts out with a fairy tale of the underworld where there is no pain or sorrow. About the princess who wished to see the human world to feel the wind on her face. It says  that when she finally got through the portal that the sunlight blinded her an erased her memory. She eventually died sad, cold, sick, and alone. The story says that the king knew her soul didn’t die and that she would be brought back to her home in the underground kingdom.
So the story follows Ofilia in 1944 Spain. She meets faun, and discovers  she is Princess Moanna, but before she can enter the portal to the underworld she must complete three tasks to prove her spirit isn’t lost to the human world. She’s given a book and told to open it when she is alone. In the book it describes the tasks she is to do. The story also covers her pregnant mother and her step father the captain in the fascist Spanish army.  Though the story seems dark it goes well with the occurring war of the time. I’m very much reminded of Grimm’s Fairy tales, its dark with a happy twist at the end.
Even though the entire film is in Spanish the visual allure of it made it well worth reading the subtitles. I enjoyed watching it this time and will watch it again. It’s appeal is more towards older teens and adults. Letting children under 13 watch it would be at a parents discretion. Much like Schedulers' List, its a good story/movie but the subtitles will be too complicated for smaller children. Watch it you will like it!