Guillermo Del Toro has made many fantastic films but he completely trumped himself when he wrote and directed Pan's Labyrinth. The film is one of the most tragic yet hopeful movies that has ever been made. The story of young Ofelia's travels into a fantasy world, that she may or may not be imagining, is a masterclass in set design and storytelling while the creatures in the movie brilliantly parallel the real world. The story is flawless in its use of symbolism and characterization to make the audience see that fantasy and reality can sometimes be confused with one another. The morbid nature of Pan's Labyrinth is hard to take at some points but it fits the tone of the film perfectly by making the viewer question the nature of fantasy in general. By portraying an escape for young Ofelia that reveals itself to be much more sinister than she could have ever imagined Guillermo Del Toro has created the greatest fantasy film of all time.
5. Children of Men (2006)
Children of Men is a film that works perfectly in every way. It succeeds as a political allegory, a violent, action thriller and a portrait of a broken, futuristic, dystopian society. The skill on display throughout the movie is jaw dropping in every sense. Alfonso Cuaran's direction highlights the events of the story by giving it an almost documentary like feel. Cuaran stages his action scenes with brilliant, long takes that perfectly put the audience in the place of the characters and elevate the tension to an almost too realistic level. The best part about Children of Men is how fully realized the world that it inhabits is. It's a frightening and cold world where women are no longer capable of giving birth to children and people have basically lost all hope. It's this bleakness juxtaposed with the realization, by a small group of rebels, that a women named Kee is pregnant that adds a sense of hope to the coldness presented. The mixing of hope and despair in such a genius tale is where Children of Men succeeds in a way that very films can ever hope to.