In the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, Ofelia, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer, escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world centred on an overgrown, abandoned labyrinth and a mysterious faun-like creature.
Writer/director Guillermo del Toro’s informal sequel to The Devil’s Backbone offers a dark parable for Spain’s troubled history. With influences ranging from Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland to Borges’ Labyrinths, it’s “an epic, poetic vision in which the grim realities of war are matched and mirrored by a descent into an underworld populated by fearsomely beautiful monsters” (Mark Kermode).
With a magnetic performance from its 10-year-old lead anchoring del Toro’s freewheeling fantasies, Pan’s Labyrinth is genuinely visionary cinema. Join us for a chance to experience it back on the big screen.
