In 1944 fascist Spain a girl fascinated with fairy-tales is sent along with her pregnant mother to live with her new stepfather a ruthless captain of the Spanish army. During the night she meets a fairy who takes her to an old faun in the center of the labyrinth. He tells her shes a princess but must prove her royalty by surviving three gruesome tasks. If she fails she will never prove herself to be the the true princess and will never see her real father the king again.
Review
It is Guillermo del Toro's best film ( 22 minutes ovation at Cannes). Del Toro gets a brilliant film but also superb performances from all involved particularly from Sergi Lopez as a brutal Fascist army captain Vidal and Doug Jones (Abe Sapien from del Toro's Hellboy) as the Pan and the wonderfully disturbing Pale Man. But the real find is Ivana Baquero (12 years old) as the young heroine Ofelia. She gives one of the best performances from a child actor we have seen since Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense. Come to it unprepared and with your mind wide open and you will be rewarded with one of the best films of the year."