1. Pan's Labyrinth
Year of Release: 2006Director: Guillero Del Toro For me, the ultimate coming-of-age tale; its number one for the way in which it utilises metaphor and imagery to really highlight the childs growth and journey. It reminds me, in that way, of
Buffy The Vampire Slayer, perhaps with a uniquely different tone, but similar nonetheless. Creating a different world for the protagonist to blossom and flourish, rudely contrasted with another, is a notion Ive always been intrigued by in this movie, theres the fantasy fairy-tale world which is almost used as a means to escape for the young girl, Ofelia. In a way its a method of blurring the grim reality of war the movie is set during the Spanish Civil War and creating something fantastical, through the eyes of a child, in its place. The world grows steadily darker as the movie progresses and perhaps we can even take this as a metaphor for the journey a child goes through at this time in their lives. Both world have authoritarian figures which, in this movie, are to be avoided. In a way, it's informing us that adults have no place in this world and when they do act, it's only as a cause of destruction. Of course, this could be seen from the little girl's point of view. The movie likes to play tricks and with such a mix between reality and fantasy, it becomes hard to distinguish between the two. Sometimes it's an artistic choice whilst other times, it's up to the viewer on how much they truly want to believe in.