Pan's Labyrinth

Ah, my first O/C movie of the year! I find myself so wrapped up in some movies, that I become obsessed with seeing them over and over. It hasn't happened too recently (the last being Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), but I feel practically drawn to see this movie. I've already seen it twice in it's opening weekend alone, and know I'll be going to see again; by myself, if need be.

Pan's Labyrinth is, quite frankly, an amazing film. It takes place in Spain, 1944, and follows the story of young Ofelia, as she balances precariously between the horrors and dangers of the real world, and the fantasy world that is trying to claim her. It is never made absolutely clear whether or not the magical creatures that come to her are of her own imagining, or if they are real, and simply unseen by the adults around her. The film itself is unrelenting, never truly giving you a chance to recover from one shock before they are coming at you again, leaving you feeling quite breathless by the end of the film. At least I was. I wish I could put into words how I felt the first time I saw it with S---- and B---. This is when I wish I could borrow S----'s way with words for just a few minutes to get it all out. It left me wanting more. More of the film, more of the magic, I don't know...just wanting more. I can't recommend this movie more.

In S---'s blog, she mentioned the other day that the fairy tale is over, and while totally unrelated and not even in the same context, I don't want the fairy tale to be over. I think this is why I've been drawn to books that deal with Faerie lately. It's the possibility of magic that surrounds us that has such an allure to me. I think this is part of the reason that I love the movie Practical Magic so much, too. I really like to hope that there is more to the world than just the physical that is around us. That somewhere, just like in the labyrinth, if you search hard enough and muddle your way through, there is something truly magical waiting for you at the journeys end.