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American audiences have traditionally shown very little interest in foreign films, ignoring all but the most profound and strikingly original pictures that manage to make it to American cineplexes. The magnificent Spanish film Pan’s Labyrinth became one of the very few foreign language pictures to successfully break into the American mainstream, introducing the world to the startlingly visceral talents of director Guillermo Del Toro in the process.

The movie takes place in the aftermath of the bloody Spanish civil war, in which fascist dictator Francisco Franco crushed the democratic resistance. The meticulous and cruel Captain Vidal (Sergi López i Ayats) arrives in a small village in rural Spain to root out the last of the resistance fighters while also trying to put a clamp on his stepdaughter Ofelia’s (Ivana Baquero) wild imagination. Ofelia’s sense of wonder, however, is not so easily subdued and we soon find her exploring a mysterious realm of bizarre, sometimes terrifying mystical creatures. The events of this strange fantasy world correlate closely to the butchering of the guerilla fighters in the real world, and the extent to which fantasy intersects with reality is deliberately left unclear.

Describing Pan’s Labyrinth simply as a war movie with a few fantasy elements mixed in doesn’t do it justice, though; it is so much more. The true genius of the movie lies in daring the audience to dream up fantastical worlds from our childhood into an age where we are fully aware of the horrors of warfare and the very worst of human nature. For this reason, Pan’s Labyrinth is often labeled “a fairytale for adults,” although this label too understates what the film has to offer.

There is a subtle but perpetual sense of imminent doom throughout the events of the movie, since we already know from our history books that Ofelia and the members of the resistance will not prevail in the end. This makes the fanciful notion that they could somehow escape their terrible fates by running off to a world of the mystical creatures all the more bittersweet for the audience to absorb.

Anyone who appreciates artistic visuals, originality and strong emotional resonance in their movies would do themselves a huge favor by seeing Pan’s Labyrinth. It is surely one of the finest films of the decade, and its influence will be felt for years to come.