I saw a special 10pm screening in Hollywood on the 28th. The actor who plays Pan (the goat thing) and pale man (creepy eyeball guy) was there signing autographs before the movie and he also did a Q & A session afterwards.

First off, the visuals and other technical stuff i.e. editing, cinematography, scene transitions, etc., were amazing. In my opinion, the movie is worth seeing for it's visuals alone. Very well done.

As for the story. It involves both the "real" world and the "fantasy" world. The real world consists of a group of fascist government soldiers stationed in a small countryside town during the spanish civil war in 1944. The surrounding hills are occupied by a group of anti-fascist rebels which the soldiers are there to defeat.

The main character Ofelia, is a young girl who's mother is pregnant with the fascist captains baby. Ofelia's real father was killed in the war and now her mother is trying to look out for them by hooking up with the captain. You soon learn what the captain is all about and it's clear Ofelia's mother really f'ed up.

Then there's the fantasy world. All I can say is that it elevates the movie to another level in my opinion. The fantasy world actually makes up far less of the movie than the real world. But it's not about the fantasy versus the real world. Since it's about Ofelia, and the fantasy element is all her making, it's really one story. In the very beginning, we learn about the story of a princess, and everything that follows is that story.

There is a lot of violence. And the real world can be uglier and more brutal than anything else. The supporting actors, most of which I didn't even talk about, all do a great job. I highly recommend Pan's Labyrith.

I have to mention, after the movie was over I thought it was pretty good but not great. I thought the quality of the story didn't match the visuals. It was a late night showing, I was already tired and I knew I had to go to work early that morning. But I couldn't stop thinking about and analyzing what I had seen while I was driving home. And by the time I got home, I had realized that what I had just seen really was a great movie.

Go watch it!