Pan's Labyrinth

I saw the movie Pan's Labyrinth this weekend. I found it to be very interesting. There was a good mix of fantasy and history. The special effects were remarkable; I was particularly fond of the Fawn. The Fawn was a mystical tree like creature who served as a guide to the main character. I was so captivated by the beauty of the Spanish language that I didn't mind reading subtitles the entire film. For me some of the key points were the loss of innocence that takes place as we grow older as well as our fading belief in magic. It must be confusing to young people how we encourage them to use their imaginations one minute and then scold them for acting naive and immature the next. Society has a harsh way of demanding conformity and practicality. In the story a Princess from the underworld becomes obsessed with the world of humans and gives up an existence free of pain and sorrow in order to walk the earth. Such a sacrifice seems foolish as the Princess is born into a time of violent revolution. It is the Princess's earthly mother who preaches that life is cruel and is in no way like the fairy tales in which the young Princess is so fond of. I wondered if this was a lesson the Princess had to learn the hard way. Could life be a test that would lead to great reward upon completion? Would this reward be granted to all who lived or only to those who lived justly?