Pan’s Labyrinth

Written & Directed by: Guillermo del Toro. Numerous awards including Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. Spanish with English subtitles. R (for graphic violence and some language)

Pan’s Labyrinth is Alice in Wonderland for grown-ups, with the horrors of both reality and fantasy blended together into an extraordinary, spellbinding fable. This haunting fantasy-drama set in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War and details the strange journeys of an imaginative young girl who may be the mythical princess of an underground kingdom. As Ofelia’s bed-ridden mother lies immobilized in anticipation of her forthcoming child and her high-ranking stepfather remains determined to fulfill the orders of General Francisco Franco to crush a nearby guerilla uprising, the young girl soon ventures into an elaborate stone labyrinth presided over by the mythical faun Pan. Convinced by Pan that she is the lost princess of legend and that in order to return to her underground home she must complete a trio of life-threatening tasks.