Pan’s Labyrinth, recipient a week ago of the National Society of Film Critics Best Picture award, seems like the perfect follow-up to Hellboy. Del Toro goes further in his study and exploration of Magic Realism in film and delivers a work that, in spite of its brutality and a couple of disturbing scenes, has a broader appeal than some his previous efforts. His craft and technique is clearly improving and he is slowing starting to make his mark on the industry, alongside his Mexican compatriots Inaritu and Cuaron.

I initially felt slightly disappointed that Pan’s Labyrinth did not contain more scenes in the alternate world of the Labyrinth. I wanted Pan to spend more time escaping the cruel reality that she was facing. Yet, I realized afterwards that the magic of the film lies not in the depiction of the fantastical but rather, in the perfect mixing of fantasy and reality. I suppose that this is exactly what magic realism is all about and that straying too far in one direction tilts the equilibrium away from what actually creates the beauty of the work.

Thus, Del Toro mixes the ingredients adroitly and creates a work that is at the same time beautiful and disturbing, enchanting and unsettling, real and dreamlike, historical and authentic, gothic and believable…it is perhaps easier to understand how good of a film Pan is by thinking about how easily it could have been a bad film. I have an idea: let’s take the Spanish Civil War, throw in a young girl who likes to escape reality by reading fairy tales, and add an alternate world of fauns and fairies. In most cases, this would sound more like a recipe for disaster than one for a film that is actually on its way to winning dozens of awards throughout the world. Del Toro is a man with a vision and the skills to implement it.