n 1944 post-civil war Spain, 11-year-old Ofelia is confronted with the horrors of fascism, when she and her pregnant mother move to the countryside to live under the control of her new stepfather, a sadistic military captain, as he hunts down rebels camped in the local forest.
One night, she is drawn to a hidden labyrinth, where a fairy tells her that she is really a princess from an enchanted world. She is given three tasks which she must complete in order to reclaim her rightful place, and as her mother's failing health threatens the life of her unborn child, Ofelia undertakes a quest to complete the tasks.
Blurring the line between reality and fantasy, director Guillermo del Toro delivers a fantastical world depicting the horrors of war against a child's innocence and imagination.
A beautiful and terrifying dark fairy tale, Pan's Labyrinth is a contemporary classic, now back in cinemas with a 20th Anniversary 4K Restoration.
- Words by
- Joe Harris
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