Some films become recognised as classics for the way in which they present perfectly realised fantasy worlds in a truly unique manner. Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth is without a doubt a film with the kind of singular vision and peerless execution to warrant such an accolade. Set during the fascist Franco's reign over the Spanish people it tells of a young girl by the name of Ophelia who moves out to the countryside with her sick mother and discovers a strange mythical realm populated by fauns and other creatures. What makes Pan's Labyrinth so compelling and engrossing is the manner in which the horrors of this fantasy realm juxtapose with the horrors of war, resulting in a sometimes disturbing, frequently spellbinding foray into the imaginative mind of a troubled child.
