One of the biggest surprises at this year's Academy Award nominations ceremony was a small foreign film called El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth) being nominated for six awards, including Best Original Screenplay for writer director Guillermo del Toro. Guillermo del Toro has made only minor waves thus far, at least by mainstream standards, primarily directing action films like Hellboy and Blade 2. But in Pan's Labyrinth, he lets his imagination go wild and produces one of the darkest, and most original fairy tale movies we've seen in years.

But beware when you hear the term "fairy tale", especially when you're dealing with an independent (and subtitled!) film. This fairy tale is as far away from Disney as Spain is from America--and the mentality of this film vs. the typical Hollywood visual effects extravaganza is startling. Pan's Labyrinth is the story of a little girl named Ofelia (played well by youngster Ivana Baquero), who travels with her pregnant mother to live with her new husband, Capitán Vidal. Fascist repression is peaking in rural Spain and Capitán Vidal is has no patience for little girls or fairy tales. He mainly cares about his upcoming son and Ofelia's soon-to-be brother. But Ofelia and the baby are set aside as something special to the underworld, and to a host of bizarre fairy tale creatures who interact with Ofelia, telling her a real life fairy tale, and offering the possibility of a happy, eternal future.

Is the girl living in an imaginary world or do fairy tales really come true? The film wisely avoids that issue, appealing both to our thirst for surrealism (and amazing visuals) as well as our hunger for a pessimistic real world view. Fairy tale or not, this film is certainly not for children, nor will it satisfy young demographics who desire an "escape" from the real world with a zany action picture. The ticket clerk even asked me at the theater, as if to warn me "no refund", if I understood the film was subtitled. I gather that many audiences have misinterpreted what kind of film Pan's Labyrinth really is.

There are scenes of very real violence in this film, as well as absurdly fantastic elements. These monsters and strange creatures are supposedly metaphors for Spain's political history, which I didn't quite see. (Ah, so that thing with eyes on its hands that eats babies is symbolic. Gotcha) I can believe though, that these creatures are abstract images that an imaginative child would associate with an cruel and far-too-real world.

Ordinarily I would criticize the film for its lack of a target audience. After all, children who would want to see this film would be horrified by the violence, not to mention the subtitles. However, I liked the film, as it is a throwback to the distant past where so-called "fairy tales" were purposely grim and surrealistically violent. In the days before commercialization oppressed mankind, fairy tales were amusing to adults and perhaps even used as disciplinary tactics to children. As a fairy tale in the truest sense, Pan's Labyrinth succeeds.

The film is macabre, grotesque and effectively tells a compelling story. The visionary Pan's Labyrinth is what Terry Gilliam should have made in 2005 with The Brothers Grimm. While I suppose I can't rightly say that Pan's Labyrinth is a very original film--in fact many movie buffs complain that it borrows ideas from other movies--I can definitely say it presents wonderfully disturbing images and tells a haunting story. Along with Children Of Men, it is one of the more alarming and memorable escapist films in 2006. Pan's Labyrinth is a very good film, and Guillermo del Toro establishes himself as a true auteur, not afraid to explore the depths of humanity's evil, and audaciously, through the eyes of innocence. Grade: B+