Twenty years after its release, Guillermo del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth” remains one of the greatest fantasy films ever made. Few movies blend the wonder of a fairy tale with the brutality of real-world history as effectively as this richly textured dark fantasy, set against the backdrop of Francoist Spain in 1944.
Like “The Wizard of Oz,” Jean Cocteau’s “Beauty and the Beast” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” del Toro’s masterpiece delves beyond the elements to create two distinct worlds built around fear, authoritarian rule and morality.
Del Toro’s masterpiece got a theatrical run to celebrate its 20th anniversary. I’d put money on it that it will be the best movie released in theaters this year.
Watching it again for the first time in nearly 20 years, I kept thinking I should revisit this movie more often.