Pans Labyrinth (2006)

There's one scene from this film that's haunted me ever since I witnessed it as a child. Today this film haunts me for a completely different reason. I also now know why I wasn't allowed to finish watching it all those years ago, and last night as the credits rolled, my eyes watered. This is a great film. It's also a film I expect to love much more as I grow older. Guillermo del Toro and his talented crew have crafted a masterful fairy tale for adults. A fairy tale grounded in reality of all things. Where the dreaded evil is one that actually existed. Through his use of swiping transitions, as the camera goes around one corner to the next, a new scene begins without missing a beat. This technique is purposeful in showing that the fairy tale world that Ofelia explores exists right around the corner of the dreary war. They exist together. Though now I understand that the despicable Vidal is much scarier than the monster Ofelia discovers. 

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