Pan's Labyrinth (2006) El laberinto del fauno (original title)

Director:

Guillermo del Toro

Writer:

Guillermo del Toro (written by)

Release Date:

19 January 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | War

Tagline:

What happens when make-believe believes it's real?

Plot:

In the fascist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.

Plot Keywords:

Girl | Spain | Fairy | Fascist | Faun

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 76 wins & 63 nominations

Cast

Ivana Baquero	...	Ofelia
Sergi López	...	Vidal
Maribel Verdú	...	Mercedes
Doug Jones	...	Fauno / Pale Man
Ariadna Gil	...	Carmen
Álex Angulo	...	Doctor
Manolo Solo	...	Garcés
César Vea	...	Serrano
Roger Casamajor	...	Pedro
Ivan Massagué	...	El Tarta
Gonzalo Uriarte	...	Francés
Eusebio Lázaro	...	Padre
Francisco Vidal	...	Sacerdote (as Paco Vidal)
Juanjo Cucalón	...	Alcalde
Lina Mira	...	Esposa del alcalde
Mario Zorrilla	...	Jefe de botiquín
Sebastián Haro	...	Capitán Guardia Civil
Mila Espiga	...	Esposa del doctor
Pepa Pedroche	...	Conchita
Lalá Gatóo	...	Jacinta (as María Jesús Gatoo)
Ana Sáez	...	Paz
Chani Martín	...	Trigo
Milo Taboada	...	Joven
Fernando Albizu	...	Maquinista
Pedro G. Marzo	...	Encargado
José Luis Torrijo	...	Sargento Bayona
Íñigo Garcés	...	Joven Guerrillero
Fernando Tielve	...	Joven Guerrillero 2
Federico Luppi	...	Rey
Chicho Campillo	...	Anciano
Pablo Adán	...	Narrador / Voz fauno (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eduardo Aránega	...	Captain Vidal's Soldier (uncredited)

Directed by
Guillermo del Toro

Writing credits
Guillermo del Toro		(written by)

Produced by
Víctor Albarrán	....	line producer
Belén Atienza	....	executive producer
Álvaro Augustín	....	producer
Alfonso Cuarón	....	producer
Guillermo del Toro	....	producer
David Ebner	....	associate producer
Edmundo Gil	....	co-executive producer
Elena Manrique	....	executive producer
Bertha Navarro	....	producer
Frida Torresblanco	....	producer

Original Music by
Javier Navarrete

Cinematography by
Guillermo Navarro

Film Editing by
Bernat Vilaplana

Casting by
Sara Bilbatúa

Production Design by
Eugenio Caballero

Set Decoration by
Pilar Revuelta

Costume Design by
Lala Huete

Makeup Department
Elvira Guijarro	....	makeup reinforcement
David Martí	....	sfx makeup artist
Martha Marín	....	makeup reinforcement (as Martha Marin)
Mar Paradela	....	assistant makeup artist
Carmen Picazo	....	trainee makeup artist
José Quetglás	....	chief makeup artist
Blanca Sánchez	....	chief hairdresser
Sandra Tejedor	....	auxillary makeup artist
Arjen Tuiten	....	special makeup effects artist: DDT

Production Management
Víctor Albarrán	....	unit production manager
Leire Aurrekoetxea	....	unit production manager
Mandy Goldberg	....	post-production supervisor
Javier Mateos	....	location production manager
Michael Toji	....	post-production supervisor
Javier Ugarte	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jorge Calvo	....	first assistant director (as Jorge Calvo González)
Borja Grandio	....	second assistant director
Karin Marzocchini	....	third assistant director
Alberto Terrón	....	second assistant director (as Alberto Terron)
Jorge Vega	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Luis Aguilar	....	plasterer
Javier Alvariño	....	set draftsman
Juan José Barriuso	....	carpenter (as Juan José Barriuso Montiel)
Mariano Buitrago	....	carpenter (as Mariano Buitrago Pérez)
Juan José Cabrera	....	locksmith
Pedro Calderón Muñoz	....	painter
Antonio Corral Calvo	....	locksmith
Pedro Carpio	....	painter
Angel Cascajares Heranz	....	carpenter
Alicia Castro	....	assistant art director
Emilio Cañuelo	....	carpenter (as Emilio Cañuelo Sola)
José Cañuelo	....	carpenter (as José Cañuelo Sola)
Patricia Cuevas	....	property master
Raul de la Fuente Torralba	....	carpenter
Pedro Jesús De la Fuente	....	construction coordinator (as Pedro de la Fuente)
Blas Diaz Exposito	....	carpenter
José G. Donado	....	charge painter (as José Garcia Donado)
Enrique A. Feito	....	charge carpenter (as Enrique Alberto Feito Santos)
Manuel García García	....	painter
Germán García Hernández	....	plasterer
Rubén García Menéndez	....	sculpture and construction: special and imaginary props
Héctor Gil	....	property master
Carlos Giménez	....	sketches
David González García	....	sculpture and construction: special and imaginary props
Freddy Guzman	....	carpenter
Tomás Gómez Bey	....	sculpture and construction: special and imaginary props
Luis Gómez Rodriguez	....	painter
Carlos A. Gómez Rodroguez	....	carpenter
Basilo Gómez Ruiz	....	plasterer
Juan Ramón Gómez Ruiz	....	plasterer
Basilo Gómez Zambrano	....	plasterer
Pedro A. Hernandez Montoya	....	locksmith
Francisco Javier Hernandez	....	carpenter
Ildefonso Jara	....	plasterer (as Ildefonso Jara Santos)
Pablo Jimenez Galan	....	plasterer
Amador Jimenez	....	plasterer
Stanislav Koychev Tanev	....	sculpture and construction: special and imaginary props
Gabriel Liste	....	assistant art director
Adrián Iustin Lixandu	....	sculpture and construction: special and imaginary props
Antonio López Palmero	....	sculpture and construction: special and imaginary props
Jesús López Torrealba	....	charge painter
Manuel Angel Marin Moya	....	carpenter
Andres Martinez Descalzo	....	carpenter
Francisco Martínez Sánchez	....	painter
Allouche Leon McGregor	....	carpenter
Rudy Mercado	....	painter (as Rudolph James Mercado)
Pablo Miras	....	sculpture and construction: special and imaginary props (as Pablo Gines Miras)
Raúl Monge	....	set draftsman
Raúl Monge	....	storyboard artist
Antonio Moya Palomar	....	carpenter
José Luis Moya	....	construction coordinator
Ramón Moya	....	construction manager
Angel Gil Moñino	....	locksmith
Antonio Muñoz Marin	....	carpenter
Juan Carlos Ardura Nachón	....	sculpture and construction: special and imaginary props (as Juan Carlos Ardura)
Alicia Nicolas Diaz	....	sculpture and construction: special and imaginary props
Jesús Pagador Martin	....	plasterer
Antonio Pérez Caro	....	locksmith
José Antonio Ramos Muñoz	....	carpenter
David Ratón Escarpa	....	sculpture and construction: special and imaginary props
Pilar Revuelta	....	set designer
Angel Rodriguez Pedroviejo	....	carpenter
Jesús Ma. Antón Rodriguez	....	carpenter
Manuel Romero Romero	....	carpenter
Iñaki Rubio	....	key props buyer
Felix Sampablo García	....	carpenter
Bodega Sanchez Carlos	....	carpenter
Antonio Segura Fernandez	....	charge carpenter
Manuel Marín Segura	....	carpenter (as Manuel Marin Segura)
José L. Sepulveda Gonzáles	....	charge locksmith
Miguel Sepulveda González	....	locksmith
Alejandro Sierra Diez	....	painter
Francisco Soto García	....	sculpture and construction: special and imaginary props
William Stout	....	conceptual artist
Martín Sánchez Fernández	....	charge painter
Iliya Todorov Klinkkov	....	sculpture and construction: special and imaginary props
José Torralba	....	carpenter (as José Torralba Cid)
Rut Villamagna	....	sculpture and construction: special and imaginary props (as Ruth García Álvarez)
Raúl Villares	....	set draftsman
Juan Javier Yubero Gambero	....	locksmith
Fernando Yubero	....	locksmith (as Fernando Yubero Gambero)
Carlos Zaragoza	....	assistant art director
Jesús Álvarez Serrato	....	sculpture and construction: special and imaginary props
Boris Fernández	....	assistant props (uncredited)
Laura Musso	....	on-set set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Jaime Baksht	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dana Blanco	....	sound effects editor
Michelle Couttolenc	....	sound recordist
Sergio Diaz	....	first sound editor
Martín Hernández	....	sound designer
Martín Hernández	....	supervising sound editor
Miguel Ángel Polo	....	sound (as Miguel Polo)
Alejandro Quevedo	....	first sound effects editor
Roland N. Thai	....	co-sound designer
Roland N. Thai	....	sound effects editor
Carlos Zamorano	....	foley artist

Special Effects by
César Abades	....	special effects technician
Reyes Abades	....	special effects supervisor
Óscar Abades	....	special effects technician
Javier Aliaga	....	special effects crew: DDT SFX
Ángel Alonso	....	special effects coordinator
Arturo Balceiro	....	special effects makeup
Xavi Bastida	....	special effects makeup
Nelly Guimaras	....	special effects makeup
Raquel Guirro	....	special effects assistant: DDT SFX
Pau Loewe	....	special effects crew
David Martí	....	special effects makeup
José M. Meneses	....	special effects technician: DDT
Pablo Perona Navarro	....	special effects makeup: DDT SFX Crew
Carlos Ortega	....	special effects technician
Montse Ribé	....	special effects makeup
José Manuel Rodrigo	....	special effects technician
Sergio Sandoval	....	creatures
Juan Serrano	....	special effects technician: DDT SFX
Aleix Torrecillas	....	special makeup effects: DDT
Joaquín Vergara	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Jeff Barnes	....	production executive: CafeFX
Ryan Bozajian	....	rotoscope artist
Mike Bozulich	....	lead compositor: CafeFX
Everett Burrell	....	visual effects supervisor
Kirk Cadrette	....	technical director
Jen Cantwell	....	rotoscope artist
Krishnamurti Costa	....	character animator and rigger: CafeFX (as Kris Costa)
Krishnamurti Costa	....	texture artist: CafeFX
Bernadette Couture	....	dustbuster
Doug Cram	....	digital compositor
Steve Dellerson	....	visual effects
Dariush Derakhshani	....	effects animator
Domenic DiGiorgio	....	technical animation supervisor
David Ebner	....	associate producer
David Ebner	....	production executive: CafeFX
Alex Friderici	....	visual effects lead
Ron Friedman	....	animation supervisor
Vicki Galloway-Weimer	....	visual effects executive producer: CafeFX (as Vicki Galloway Weimer)
Phillip Giles	....	lighting technical director (as Phil Giles)
Soo Youn Han	....	character animator
Josh Heeren	....	visual effects editor
Joseph Hoback	....	modeler (as Joe Hoback)
Lindsay M. Hoppe	....	roto/paint artist (as Lindsay Anderson)
Wendy Hulbert	....	visual effects coordinator
Steve Hutchins	....	paint/roto artist
Vange Ingan	....	office staff: CafeFX
Edward Irastorza	....	co-visual effects supervisor
Edward Irastorza	....	visual effects producer
Tracy Nicole Irwin	....	visual effects artist
Grzegorz Jonkajtys	....	lead animator (as Greg Jonkajtys)
Michael Kaelin	....	rotoscope artist
Michael Kennen	....	digital compositor
Alisa Loren Klein	....	lighting technical director
Derek Krauss	....	digital paint & roto artist
Scott Krehbiel	....	character rigger
Aaron Kupferman	....	digital compositor: Cafe FX
Chris LeDoux	....	digital compositor
Neil Lim Sang	....	animator: CafeFX
Debi Lyons	....	technical director
Chris MacKenzie	....	digital opticals
Szymon Masiak	....	effects animator
Laura Maynadé	....	scanning coordinator
Toby Newell	....	roto artist
Brian Openshaw	....	render manager
Akira Orikasa	....	CG supervisor: CafeFX
Desi Ortiz	....	visual effects senior editor: CafeFX
Chris Pinto	....	rotoscope artist
Fernanda Plana	....	visual effects set coordinator
Lance Ranzer	....	paint/roto artist: CafeFX
Cory Redmond	....	lead CG artist
Richard R. Reed	....	digital compositor: CafeFX (as Richard Reed)
Ruben Rodas	....	paint/roto artist: CafeFX
Bernardo Rodriguez	....	assistant visual effects editor
Emilio Ruiz del Río	....	miniature supervisor
Patrice d.S. Saenz	....	technical director (as Patrice Saenz)
Mag Sarnowska	....	dustbuster
Aaron Singer	....	digital compositor
Eddie Soria	....	paint/rotoscope artist
Adam Stern	....	digital compositor: Cafe FX
Robert Stromberg	....	matte painting supervisor
Robert Tesdahl	....	lead software developer
Robert Tesdahl	....	software development supervisor
Jason Thielen	....	character animator
Danny Torres	....	systems engineer
Leigh van der Byl	....	lighting technical: CafeFX
Leigh van der Byl	....	technical director
Leigh van der Byl	....	texture painter: CafeFX
Tina Wallace	....	rotoscope artist
O.D. Welch	....	executive producer: CafeFX
W. Kale Whorton	....	visual effects editor
Melissa Widup	....	roto/paint artist: Cafe FX
Todd Widup	....	digital animator
Todd Widup	....	lead creature technical director: Cafe FX
Tom Williamson	....	compositing supervisor
Motassem Younes	....	digital opticals
Paul Griffin	....	animation supervisor: pre-production, CafeFX (uncredited)
Phillip Moses	....	production operations: CafeFX (uncredited)

Stunts
Guiomar Alonso	....	stunt double: Maribel Verdu
Antonio Arnalte	....	stunts
Eduardo Aránega	....	stunts
Nuria Bueno	....	stunt double
Jordi Casares	....	stunt coordinator
Eduardo Gago Muñoz	....	stunt performer
Diego Herberg	....	stunt performer
Diego Herberg	....	stunts
Rafa Higuera	....	stunts
Eduardo Moratilla	....	stunt performer
Eduardo Moratilla	....	stunts
Ricardo Rocca	....	stunts
Juan José Rodríguez	....	stunt performer
Juan José Rodríguez	....	stunts
César Solar	....	stunts
Cuco Usín	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Sergio Delgado	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
David Domínguez	....	camera operator: "d" camera (as David Dominguez)
Jon Elizegui	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Álvaro García	....	second assistant camera
Olaf Guembe	....	second assistant camera
Paco Laso	....	first assistant camera: "d" camera
David Lee	....	gaffer
Juan Leiva	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Rodrigo López	....	first assistant camera: "c" camera
Pavel Proisl	....	grip
Ricardo Rodríguez	....	gaffer
Bernardo Rossetti	....	additional Steadicam operator (as Bernardo Rosetti)
Bruce Saintclaire	....	camera operator: "c" camera
Isabel Seco Velasco	....	video technician
Jaromir Sedina	....	Steadicam operator: "b" camera
Bruce St. Clair	....	camera operator: "c" camera (as Bruce Saintclaire)
Rick Stribling	....	key grip
José Luis Torrecilla	....	rigging gaffer
Tom Williamson	....	effects photography

Animation Department
Angie Jones	....	animator: CafeFX

Casting Department
Cristina Perales	....	casting assistant
Macarena Pombo	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Rosa Alvarez	....	tailor
José Luis Aranda	....	tailor
Asun Arretxe	....	costume assistant
Sofía Medem	....	tailor
Jairo Montero	....	tailor
Usue Peña	....	tailor
Delfín Prieto	....	costume chief (as Delfin Prieto)
Rocío Redondo	....	costume assistant (as Rocio Redondo)
Carla Rivera	....	tailor
Eva Urquiza	....	chief tailor
Yolanda Urquiza	....	tailor (as Yoli Urquiza)

Editorial Department
Fran Amaro	....	assistant editor (as Francisco Amaro Gómez)
Joe Fineman	....	post-production consultant
Nick Iannelli	....	digital intermediate producer
Dave Muscat	....	digital intermediate editor
Laura Sanchez	....	film scanner
Evan Schiff	....	assistant editor
Chris Wallace	....	digital intermediate colorist
D. Todd Deeken	....	post-production services: New Line (uncredited)
Scott Farrar	....	post-production services: New Line Cinema (uncredited)

Music Department
Marc Blanes Matas	....	music recordist
Marc Blanes Matas	....	score mixer
Brian Howard	....	conductor
Chema Ruiz	....	conductor
Miguel Sanchez	....	conductor

Transportation Department
Felix Buenache	....	driver
Antonio Calvo	....	driver
Guillermo Cuervo	....	driver
Juan Luis Grande	....	driver (as Juan Luis Grandes)
Julián Hernández	....	driver
Brian Howard	....	driver
Fernando Hurtado	....	driver
Miguel Ángel López	....	driver
Miguelón	....	driver
Vicente Molins	....	production vehicles
Oscar Mora	....	driver
Susana Morales	....	driver
Jorge Olivera	....	driver
Luis Patiño	....	driver
Matías Pilas	....	driver (as Matias Pilas)
Francisco Pueche	....	production vehicles
Javier Roldan	....	driver (as Javier Roldán)
Miguel Sanchez Jr.	....	driver
Steven	....	driver
Miguel Sánchez Busto	....	driver (as Miguel Sanchez)
Javier Sánchez	....	driver (as Javier Sanchez)

Other crew
Barbara Allegue	....	location assistant
Silvia Alonso	....	production assistant
Asier Andueza	....	location assistant
Marta Berraondo	....	location assistant
Luis Botella	....	location assistant
Cristina Campos	....	production assistant
Marc De Blas	....	production assistant
Álvaro Díez	....	shooting assistant (as Alvaro Diez)
Juan Fernandez Isasi	....	shooting assistant
Mariano Gallego	....	shooting assistant
Ignacio Guijarro	....	shooting assistant
Israel Herranz Alonso	....	shooting assistant
Ana C. Izquierdo	....	production assistant (as Ana Izquierdo)
Inés Manrique	....	shooting assistant
Yuriria Montero	....	assistant: Guillermo Del Toro (as Yuri Montero)
George Nicholis	....	publicist
Beatriz Pita	....	location assistant
Fernanda Plana	....	production assistant
Juan Antonio Pérez	....	shooting assistant
Vivien Quetglas	....	production secretary
José Miguel Real	....	location assistant
Michele Robertson	....	publicist
Gabriela Rodriguez	....	production assistant
Nacho Rodríguez Marín	....	location assistant (as Ignacio Rodriguez)
Carmen Soriano	....	script supervisor
Javier Soto	....	documentarian
Nicolas Soto	....	location assistant
Sally Steele	....	publicist
Alberto Tomé	....	location assistant (as Alberto Tome)
Maria Torrella	....	location assistant
Héctor Ubón	....	shooting assistant (as Hector Ubon)
Amaury Vergara	....	assistant director department intern
Maite Vilches	....	shooting assistant (as Mayte Vilches)
Paco Yacobi	....	location assistant
Tania Zarak	....	production assistant

Thanks
Jesús de la Vega	....	thanks
Alejandro González Iñárritu	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Estudios Picasso (co-production)
• Tequila Gang (co-production)
• Esperanto Filmoj (co-production)
• Sententia Entertainment (produced in association with)
• Telecinco (presented in association with)
• OMM (uncredited)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. (2006) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Cinema Mondo (2006) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Culture Publishers (CP) (2007) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Paradiso Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Picturehouse Entertainment (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• Senator Film (2007) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2007) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (2007) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Canvas (2010) (Belgium) (TV)
• IPA Asia Pacific (2007) (Thailand) (all media)
• New Line Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• New Line Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Optimum Home Entertainment (2007) (UK) (DVD)
• Pan Vision Oy (2007) (Finland) (DVD) (Blu-ray 2009)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Senator Home Entertainment (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Senator Home Entertainment (2007) (Germany) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2008) (Germany) (DVD) (HD DVD)

Special Effects

• CafeFX (visual effects)
• DDT Efectos Especiales (special effects) (as DDT)

Other Companies

• DeLuxe Toronto  digital intermediate (as Deluxe EFilm Toronto)
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• Marcella C. Public Relations  DVD publicity
• Mi Casa Multimedia  DVD/Blu-ray audio mastering 5.1, 7.1
• Milan Records  score album released by
• Penélope Producciones  extras casting
• Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, The  orchestra

Also Known As:

"El laberinto del fauno" - Spain (original title)
"The Labyrinth of the Faun" - International (English title) (informal literal title)

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic violence and some language

Runtime:

118 min | Finland:120 min | Canada:112 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Spain | Mexico | USA

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R | UK:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Ireland:16 (theatrical rating) | Italy:VM14 | France:-12 | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:R21 | Norway:15 | Australia:MA | Belgium:KNT | Singapore:NC-16 (cut) | Taiwan:R-12 | Germany:16 (f) | Argentina:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Spain:18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | New Zealand:R16 | Malaysia:18PL | Netherlands:16 | Mexico:C | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | South Korea:15 | Brazil:16 | Japan:PG-12 | Iceland:12 | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Sweden:15 | Ireland:18 (DVD rating) | Germany:16 (DVD rating) | Peru:18 | Chile:14

Filming Locations:

Belchite, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain

Company:

Estudios Picasso

Trivia:

Guillermo del Toro said that he felt the character of Pan was too dark and sexual to play in a film opposite an eight-year-old girl. The film is only called "Pan's Labyrinth" in America, other English-speaking countries, German-speaking countries, The Netherlands, Scandinavia, and Croatia; everywhere else it's called "The Labyrinth of the Faun."

Goofs:

Anachronisms: During the scene of the villagers coming to the mill to receive their food rations, a modern locomotive horn can be heard in the background.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Pan:A long time ago, in the underground realm, where there are no lies or pain, there lived a Princess who dreamed of the human world. She dreamed of blue skies, soft breeze, and sunshine. One day, eluding her keepers, the Princess escaped. Once outside...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Visions of Stanley Kubrick (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

Pan's Labyrinth Lullaby (Nana del Laberinto del Fauno)

A fey, beautiful and dark masterpiece

Set during Franco's mopping up exercise after the Spanish Civil War, Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth is a wonderful, dark fairy tale that, in a metaphor for Spain itself, teeters on the edge of nightmare dreamscapes of corruption, violence and the death of innocents.

This film is definitely not for young children. Although the fantasy sequences are gorgeously realised, and are fairy tales in the truest sense (in that they are dark, fey, dangerous and violent), most of the story (about three quarters of it, in fact) exists outside of the dreamland, in the even more frightening (and sometimes shockingly violent) world of a real life struggle of ideas and ideology.

Sergi Lopez is excellent as the brutal (and possibly sadistic) Falangist Captain tasked with routing out the remaining leftists from the woods and hills of Northern Spain. Into this precarious situation come his new wife (a widow of a former marriage, who is carrying his son) and his stepdaughter Ofelia (played to absolute perfection, by the then 11 year old, Ivana Baquero).

Uncomfortable with her new surroundings, suspicious of her stepfather and desperately concerned about the worsening condition of her mother, Ofelia uncovers a strange alternative world, and the chance to escape forever the pain and uncertainty of her everyday life.

Thus the film alternates between the world of Civil War Spain and the increasingly bizarre, dark and frightening world of the Pan's Labyrinth. As the twin plots progress, they intertwine, with the tasks of Ofelia becoming the choices faced by a Spain at the crossroads. The poignancy of the film lies partly in the fact that the victories of the child are reflected so starkly by the failures of the adult world.

Apparently Pan's Labyrinth won a 20-minute standing ovation at Cannes, when it was shown. This may be a little bit over the top. I suspect when the furore has died down some will choose to swing the pendulum back and criticise it for its more obvious faults. Much of the film is derivative. There are few ideas in the film's magical dreamworld that haven't been seen before. There are also few ideas in the film's depiction of the Civil War that can't be read in Satre or Orwell; can't be viewed in Picasso's Guernica; or can't be watched in Land and Freedom.

For all the evident truth of these observations, to accept them would be to entirely miss the majesty of Pan's Labyrinth, which doesn't lie in its originality but its absolute mastery of execution. People will watch Pan's Labyrinth in a way that most won't watch Land and Freedom. In doing so, they will also discover a world of fairy tales which existed before Disney sunk its claws into them: a dangerous world, where nothing is as it seems and every step is a possible death – a place which may leave even adults shivering under the duvet, part in terror, part in wonder. And all this backed up by the finest cinematography I've seen.

The only real faults I am prepared to allow for this film is a slight tendency (particularly at the end) for a Narnia-like moralism, and the fact that the faun is, perhaps, is not quite wild enough! These are eminently forgivable, though. This is easily the best film I've seen this year, and a must see on the big screen.