Pan's Labyrinth

This is, like most real fairy tales, a violent, bloody and intense story. During WWII, a desperate woman marries a sadistic Spanish army captain, gets pregnant and moves with her young daughter to an encampment in the woods. The captain is a vicious and cruel man. And the daughter escapes into a world of fairies (not the cute kind like Disney) and ogres. There is nothing cute in this movie- it is dark, full of scenes of torture and gore and hate. It is evil that the child is trying desperately to escape. She performs tasks in a magical world- one where she says "I am not afraid". Truly, she is a very brave little girl indeed. What in this film is real and what is not? You can form your own opinions. Does the little girl really do things? Or is she locked into a world of make believe to protect herself from the horrible world around her. This is a movie that seems to get better the more I think about all of the nuances. It is not for children- in fact, Alex and I both had to look away in some of the torture scenes. There is a great deal of blood and adult issues. Not for kids at all. But it is a very intense and moving experience to be in the audience.