The 2000s gave us plenty of incredible movies. Films like The Lord of the Rings, Gladiator, and The Dark Knight remain fan favourites to this day. But there’s one film that many people may not have heard of, and some now call it the best of the decade.
Pan’s Labyrinth is a Spanish-language dark fantasy film released in 2006. It was written and directed by Guillermo del Toro and is set in Spain in 1944 during the early years of Franco’s rule. The story follows a young girl called Ofelia who discovers a magical, crumbling labyrinth near her new home. Her stepfather, a cruel army officer, is tasked with hunting rebels in the nearby woods.
As Ofelia’s pregnant mother becomes seriously ill, the girl enters a strange fantasy world filled with trials, strange creatures, and a mysterious faun who says she may be a long-lost princess.
The film combines harsh reality of post-Civil War Spain with fantasy in a way that has been widely praised.
When it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, it received a 22-minute standing ovation, the longest in the festival’s history.
It also won three Academy Awards, including Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, and Best Makeup.
It later won three BAFTAs and became one of the most talked-about films of the year.
Pan’s Labyrinth has a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 98/100 on Metacritic, which made it the highest-rated film of the entire 2000s decade on the site.
Reviews from fans completely agree.
“A great dark fantasy movie. Loved the practical special effects. The story is awesome. It’s a true, everlasting masterpiece and for me the best film of the 2000s,” one viewer said.
Another wrote: “A classic, master class film making and storytelling. Up there with The Lord of the Rings as one of the best fantasy movies ever made.”
A third added: “Such an imaginative dark fantasy intertwined so well with the bittersweet horrors of Franco’s regime.
“The practical effects and creature designs are amazing, as are the story and characters.”
Another commented: “This is such a fantastically well done movie. The relationships between the characters feel believable, the storyline is beautiful and tragic, and the whimsical nature truly brings you into another world.
“The creature design is truly spectacular and the ending will certainly make you shed a tear.”
Others praised the director himself, with one person writing: “The greatest director of delivering horror and fantasy, light and dark, balanced in every scene which [is] like a piece of art.”
And one viewer wrote: “One of my favourite films. This is a masterpiece of imagination. I love the juxtaposition of opposites, beauty and horror, kindness and cruelty, fantasy and reality, and how these opposites are pushed closer and closer together until they meet at the film’s explosive climax.”
Pan’s Labyrinth is now available to buy or rent on Amazon Prime.