Del Toro's fantastic fairy tale

After dabbling in Hollywood fare such as "Blade 2" and "Hellboy," Mexican director Guillermo del Toro returns to his native Spanish tongue with the excellent "Pan's Labyrinth." \nSet during the final days of the Spanish Civil War of the 1940s, the film tells the story of Ofelia (Ivana Baquero -- enough about Abigail Breslin in "Little Miss Sunshine," this is the child performance of the year), a young girl who moves to the countryside after her pregnant mother is remarried to a military captain. The captain, a soulless prick of a man, is set on running out hiding rebels. Complications arise with Ofelia's mother's pregnancy, leaving her in constant bedrest. Left to fend for herself, Ofelia copes by imagining herself immersed in a fairy tale world (whether this world is real or not is up to the viewer to decide). A mysterious looking faun named Pan (who could kick "Narnia's" Mr. Tumnus' ass any day) tells her she is the reincarnated soul of a princess from an underground world who must perform three tasks in order to restore glory to her kingdom.\nDel Toro takes a different approach to the fairy tale story aspect of the film. While the story is of basic structure, its execution is much darker. The creative team uses a mix of fantastic makeup, puppetry and CGI to design the gloomy world of the labyrinth and the creatures that inhabit it. Don't expect beautiful castles and glass slippers -- the film's fairies resemble praying mantis', and no words can do justice to just how creepy the character of the Pale-man is (with his skin hanging off and eyes attached to his hands).\nWhile the fairy tale is fun, it is del Toro's narrative that shines, weaving both reality and fantasy to study how a child deals with living in a hopeless world. The story becomes even more engaging when the captain learns of the villagers' involvement with the rebel forces, and he will go to any length to stop them (lots of violence ensues that's not suitable for the squeamish). \n"Labyrinth" is a lock for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Screenplay Oscar nominations and hopefully, but not likely, a Best Picture nod. "Pan's Labyrinth" may leave you emotionally distraught, but it's a film not to be missed.