Pan's Labyrinth

Before I saw this movie I read up on it on IMDB. The people on IMDB said that it was ripping off the plot from El Espiritu de la Colmena (Spirit of the BeeHive), but apart from a few similarities they were totally different. Yes they are both set in 1940's Spain and had political undertones; yes they were both about young girls who were lost in their own fantasy world (both of whom are incredible child actors); but there the similarities stop. For one thing Pan's Labyrinth had a plot that was intelligible. Also,Spirit of the Beehive was more subtly political. But enough about comparison.
Pan's Labyrinth was awesome. It would be a perfect children's movie if it weren't for all of the violence. But I think that is what makes the movie so good. This little girl is caught in her own world, but she is still subject to the actual world around her. Nancy Michael equated the movie with classic myth. It's about a person who is trying to make sense of the world around them. In a sense Ofelia created her own religion and, in the end, went to a heaven of her making.
The most horrifying scene for me was the scene with the rabbit hunter. It was the first act of violence in the film and it was way more effective than simply shooting the peasants. After that we had a completely clear picture of the Captain. A lot of other people were hung up on the cheek scene, and it was shocking, but after that first act I was expecting anything so the subsequent graffic scenes weren't as shocking.