"1944" "The Civil War is over. armed men are still fighting the new Fascist regime." "Military posts are established to exterminate the Resistance. there lived a princess who dreamt of the human world." "soft breeze and sunshine. the princess escaped." "Once outside... the bright sun blinded her and erased her memory." "She forgot who she was and where she came from." "sickness and pain." "And eventually she died. at another time. until the world stopped turning." "Ofelia?" "the outdoors." "Fairy tales?" "You're a bit too old to be filling your head with such nonsense." "Ask him to stop the car." "wait." "Your brother's not well." "are you okay?" "Ofelia?" "Come here." "l saw a fairy." "Just look at your shoes!" "Let's go." "come out to greet the Captain." "I want you to call him Father." "You have no idea how good he's been to us." "Ofelia..." "just a word..." "Captain." "15 minutes late." "Carmen." "Welcome." "That's not necessary." "I can walk perfectly well." "Doctor Ferreiro prefers that you don't exert yourself." "No." "Come." "Do it for me." "Thank you." "come out." "Say hello to the Captain." "Ofelia." "Ofelia." "Mercedes!" "Bring the luggage." "Sir." "It's a labyrinth." "Just a pile of old rocks that have always been here." "Even before the mill." "Better not to go in there." "You may get lost." "Thank you." "Have you read them all?" "Mercedes!" "The Captain is calling." "Your father needs me." "He's not my father." "The Captain is not my father." "My father was a tailor." "He died in the war." "He's not my father." "You've made that clear enough." "Shall we go?" "Have you seen my mother?" "Isn't she beautiful!" "Yes." "She's sick with baby." "Did you notice?" "The guerrillas are sticking to the woods because it's hard to track them up there." "Those bastards know the terrain better than any of us." "We'll block all access to the woods medicine- we'll store it all." "Right here." "make them come to us." "We'll set up three new command posts." "here and here." "Mercedes." "sir." "This will help you sleep through the night." "Just two drops just before bed." "Two drops only." "Very good." "All of it." "Good." "Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything." "Day or night." "You or your nurse." "Good night." "sweetie." "You have to help us." "Come up and see him." "The wound is getting worse." "His leg isn't any better." "This is all I could get." "I'm sorry." "Captain Vidal is waiting for you in his office." "Ofelia." "your feet." "They're frozen!" "Are you afraid?" "A little." "What's that noise?" "just the wind." "Nights here are different from city nights." "you hear cars-tramway." "Here the houses are old." "They creak." "As if they were speaking." "I'm going to give you a surprise." "A surprise?" "Yes." "something much better." "Why did you have to get married?" "I was alone too long." "I'm with you." "You weren't alone." "You were never alone." "you'll understand." "It hasn't been easy for me either." "Your brother's at it again" "Tell him one of your stories." "I'm sure that'll calm down." "my brother... black stone. a magic rose blossomed every night that made whoever plucked it immortal." "But no one dared go near it because its thorns were full of poison. but never about the promise of eternal life." "the rose wilted unable to bequeath its gift to anyone. until the end of time." "Come in." "How is she?" "Very weak." "She'll have as much rest as she needs." "I'll sleep down here." "And my son?" "Pardon?" "Captain." "how is he?" "there's no reason to be alarmed." "Very good." "your wife should not have traveled at such a late stage of pregnancy." "sir." "A son should be born wherever his father is." "That's all." "Captain." "What makes you so sure the baby is a male?" "Don't fuck with me." "At 8 o'clock we detected movement in the northwestern sector." "Gunfire." "Sergeant Bayona searched the area and captured a suspect." "here from the town." "my father is an honest man." "Let me judge that." "Take your hat off in front of me." "We found this weapon on him." "It's been fired." "Captain." "keep quiet." "no Master"?" "Captain." "sir." "Captain." "We're just farmers." "Go on." "Captain." "To hunt for rabbits." "For my daughters." "They're sick." "uh?" "he was hunting rabbits." "Leave him alone." "You killed him!" "Murderer!" "Son of a bitch!" "Maybe you'll learn to search these assholes properly before you come bothering me." "Captain." "wake up!" "there's something in the room." "Hello." "Did you follow me here?" "Are you a fairy?" "Look!" "This is a fairy." "You want me to go with you?" "Outside?" "Where?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Echo." "Echo." "Hello?" "Hello?" "It's you." "It's you." "You've returned." "I beg you." "look." "My name is Ofelia." "Who are you?" "Me?" "I've had so many names..." "Old names that only the wind and the trees can pronounce." "the forest and the earth." "I am... I am a faun." "Your Highness. daughter of the king of the underworld." "My father was a tailor." "You are not born of man." "It was the moon that bore you." "Look on your left shoulder and you will find a mark that proves it." "your real father had us open portals all over the world to allow your return." "This is..." "This is the last of them. that you have not become a mortal." "You must complete three tasks before the moon is full." "This is The Book of Crossroads." "when you are alone show you what must be done." "But there's nothing in here." "prepare these rabbits for dinner tonight." "They are too young." "sir." "This coffee was burnt." "Taste it yourself." "You should keep an eye on it." "sir." "Cook these." "He didn't like the coffee." "He's nothing but a fussy dandy." "A fussy dandy!" "We're going to need some beef and one more chicken." "the mayor's too." "they eat more than a couple of pigs." "And they don't shut up." "Not even underwater." "Mercedes." "Ofelia." "Your father is giving a dinner party tonight." "Look what I've made for you." "Do you like it?" "What I wouldn't have given to have such a dress... as fine as this when I was your age!" "And look at the shoes!" "very pretty." "now." "Take your bath." "Ofelia?" "Ofelia?" "Hurry up." "I want to see the dress on you." "I want you to be beautiful for the Captain." "You'll look like a princess." "A princess?" "Make sure those chickens are cleaned properly." "And don't forget the beans." "just beautiful." "What a gorgeous dress!" "stop wasting time." "Do you want some milk with honey?" "with you looking so pretty." "Mercedes." "Do you believe in fairies?" "No." "I did." "I believed in a lot of things I don't believe any more." "a fairy visited me." "Really? too." "A faun?" "very tall and smelled like earth." "My mother warned me to be wary of fauns." "Mercedes!" "Come with me." "everything is here. bacon." "This-this is real tobacco." "And the ration cards." "l need you to check the inventory." "Very well." "Mercedes." "sir." "ls this the only copy?" "The only one." "I'll carry it." "Captain." "perhaps it's nothing." "It's them. they were home to creatures who were full of magic and wonder." and slept in the shade of a colossal fig tree near the mill."" "the tree is dying." "its trunk old and twisted." "A monstrous toad has settled in its roots and won't let the tree thrive." "You must put the three magic stones in the toad's mouth and retrieve the golden key from inside his belly." "Only then will the fig tree flourish again."" "They were here less than twenty minutes ago." "They left in a hurry." "at most." "Antibiotics." "they forgot this lottery ticket." "They're here." "Those sons of bitches are here." "and they're watching us." "Hey!" "You left this behind!" "And your lottery ticket!" "Why don't you come back and get it?" "Who knows?" "This could be your lucky day! and I'm not afraid of you. eating all these bugs... and growing fat while the tree dies?" "Have you looked in her room?" "And the pantry?" "ma'am." "Have you checked the garden?" "ma'am." "Where is that girl?" "please." "Carmen." "Charmed." "A pleasure to meet you." "one ration card per family." "Take a look." "One?" "Only one." "I'm not sure it'll be enough." "it should be plenty." "We can't allow anyone to send food to the guerillas in the mountains." "and one of them is wounded." "how can you be so sure?" "We almost got them." "We found this." "Antibiotics." "God has already saved their souls." "What happens to their bodies hardly matter to Him." "Captain." "We know you're not here by choice." "You're wrong about that." "clean Spain." "Because these people hold the mistaken belief that we're all equal." "But there's a big difference:" "the war is over and we won. and that's that." "We're all here by choice." "By choice!" "Put the coffee on." "I'm going for more wood." "We'll take care of it." "Ofelia?" "how did you and the Captain meet?" "Ofelia's father used to make the Captain's uniforms." "I see... I went to work at the shop. the Captain and I met again." "isn't it!" "finding each other again?" "very curious." "forgive my wife." "She hasn't been exposed to the world." "She thinks these silly stories are interesting to others." "We understand." "madam Ofelia is here." "Excuse me." "Captain?" "No." "I had no idea." "In Morocco." "but he left a great impression." "An excellent soldier. he smashed his watch on a rock so that his son would know the exact hour and minute of his death." "So he would know how a brave man dies." "Nonsense." "He didn't own a watch." "What you've done hurts me." "you'll go to bed without supper." "Are you listening?" "Sometimes I think you'll never learn to behave." "Ofelia." "too." "You mean the Captain?" "Him more than me." "I've got the key." "Take me to the Labyrinth." "Hello." "I got the key out." "and the girl is you." "And the baby?" "So... you retrieved the key." "I'm glad." "She believed in you from the very beginning." "She's so glad you succeeded." "Keep the key." "You'll be needing it very soon." "And this too?" "a piece of chalk." "Two tasks remain and the moon is almost full." "Be patient." "We'll soon stroll through the seven circular gardens of your palace." "How do I know that what you say is true?" "Why would a poor little faun like me lie to you?" "Proceed." "Have your cards ready for inspection." "Let's go." "Your name?" "first and last." "at your service. kept safe in this mill!" "The Reds lie... there's not a single home without fire or bread." "show me what happens now?" "Show me." "help me..." "Captain!" "Captain!" "Come quickly. there's not a single home without fire or bread." "This is our daily bread in Franco's Spain..." "Your wife needs uninterrupted rest." "She'll have to be sedated most of the time." "The girl should sleep somewhere else." "I'll stay here until the birth." "Make her well." "I don't care what it costs or what you need." "Make her well." "Don't worry." "you'll see." "Having a baby is complicated." "Then I'll never have one." "aren't you?" "Have you told anyone?" "I haven't." "I don't want anything bad to happen to you." "Nor I to you." "Do you know a lullaby?" "Only one... but I don't remember the words." "I don't care." "I still want to hear it." "Don't be afraid." "It's only me." "Are you ready?" "Yes." "Then let's go." "This is sheer madness." "he'll kill us all." "Doctor?" "It's not fear... at least not for myself." "Pedro!" "My brother!" "You didn't carry out the task." "my mother is sick." "That's no excuse for negligence." "Look..." "this is a mandrake root." "A plant that dreamt of being human." "Put it under your mother's bed in a bowl of fresh milk." "give it two drops of blood." "we have no time to waste." "The full moon will be upon us." "Take my pets to guide you through." "so be careful. it is not human. but don't eat or drink anything." "Absolutely nothing." "Your life depends on it." "cheese." "Mail for Trigo and Piloto." "Frenchie." "How do you think it's doing?" "It's fucked up." "Let's see." "British and Canadian troops disembarked on a small beach in the North of F-F." "idiot." "F-f-f-rance." "000 soldiers give us hope... under the command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower... doctor?" "Frenchie." "There's no way to save it." "I'll try to make it in as few cuts as possible." "just a second." ""Use the chalk to trace a door anywhere in your room."" "start the hourglass."" ""Let the fairies guide you." and come back before the last grain of sand falls."" "No..." "This other one." "No!" "No!" "We'll soon have reinforcements from Jaca." "Fifty men or more." "Then we'll go head to head with Vidal." "And then what?" "they'll send another just like him." "And another... no safe shelter... medicine." "You must take care of Mercedes." "you'd cross the border with her." "doctor." "There's no choice." "You have to leave." "but you can't go down there now." "It's exactly what he expects." "Leave it to me." "I'm a coward." "you're not." "I am. feeding him." "What if the doctor's right and we can't win?" "At least we'll make things harder for that bastard." "Captain Vidal... but it is." "But she still has a fever?" "but it's a good sign." "Her body is responding." "Listen to me." "save the baby." "That boy will bear my name and my father's name." "Save him." "Brother..." "Little brother... things out here aren't too good." "But soon you'll have to come out." "You've made Mama very sick. just one:" "don't hurt her. even though sometimes she's sad for days at a time. you'll love her. and I'll make you a prince." "a prince." "but they wouldn't move." "but it was too late. but look at the mess they made." "What did they steal from the freight cars?" "They didn't open a single one." "What the hell are you talking about?" "This whole mess..." "They didn't open any of the cars." "They didn't take anything." "Nothing?" "Are you sure?" "other than to waste our time." "Captain." "they went up hill." "we've surrounded a small unit that fell behind." "They took cover up on the hill." "this is the only decent way to die." "Serrano!" "Let me see." "Can you talk?" "Damn it!" "These are useless!" "They can't talk." "this one's still alive." "Shot in the leg." "What's happened?" "They caught one." "They took one of them alive." "And they're taking him to the storeroom." "Mercedes!" "Pedro..." "Pedro..." "Mercedes?" "I need to get into the storeroom." "Not now." "Move away!" "dear." "Should I take this up?" "half the dose." "I don't think I need it." "much better." "I don't understand." "But I'm glad." "Mother... this cigarette is good!" "Real tobacco hard to find." "G-G-Go to hell." "Garces." "We catch one and he turns out to be a stutterer." "We'll be here all night." "As long as he talks." "Garces is right." "You'd do better to tell us everything." "I brought along a few tools." "Just things you pick up along the way. you'll own up to a few things. we'll have developed..." "how can I put this-?" "much like brothers." "You'll see." "I'll believe anything you tell me." "I'll make you a deal. you can go." "look at me." "there's no one." "Captain?" "would anybody contradict me?" "Captain." "He can leave." "There you have it." "Count to three." "One." "Good." "Two." "One more and you will be free." "Shame." "Your Highness." "you must be relieved." "thank you." "But things haven't turned out so well." "No?" "l had an accident." "An accident?" "Yes." "You broke the rules!" "It was only two grapes!" "I thought no one would notice." "We've made a mistake!" "A mistake?" "You failed." "You can never return." "It was an accident!" "You cannot return." "The moon will be full in three days." "Your spirit shall forever remain among the humans." "you shall die like them and all memory of you shall fade in time." "And we'll vanish along with it." "You will never see us again. but I think we need your help." "what have you done to him?" "Not much." "But things are getting better." "Doctor." "It has its advantages." "stay here." "I talked." "Not much." "B-b-but I talked." "I'm sorry." "I'm so sorry." "please." "Son of a bitch." "It'll take away the pain." "It's almost over." "Captain." "You're not moving anymore." "Are you sick?" "What are you doing down there?" "Call him!" "Who?" "you imbecile?" "Ferreiro!" "What the hell is this?" "no!" "please!" "Look at this!" "Look what she was hiding under your bed!" "What do you think of this?" "what is this thing doing under the bed?" "It's a magic root the faun gave me." "This is all because of that junk you let her read." "Look what you've done!" "darling." "Fine." "As you wish." "He told me you would get better." "And you did." "you have to listen to your father." "You have to stop all this." "No." "I want to leave this place!" "Please!" "Things are not that simple. soon you'll see that life isn't like your fairy tales." "The world is a cruel place." "even if it hurts." "No!" "No!" "Ofelia!" "me or anyone else." "Mom!" "Help!" "Help!" "Help!" "Why did you do it?" "It was the only thing I could do." "No." "You could have obeyed me." "but I didn't." "It would have been better for you." "You know it." "I don't understand." "Why didn't you obey me?" "without questioning..." "Captain." "Captain!" "Garces!" "Call the troop paramedic." "Captain." "Your wife is dead." "Because the paths to the Lord are inscrutable." "Because the essence of His forgiveness lies in His word and in His mystery. it is our task to decipher it." "Because when we open our arms the earth takes in only a hollow and senseless shell." "Far away now is the soul in its eternal glory." "Because it is in pain that we find the meaning of life." "And the state of grace that we lose when we are born." "puts the solution in our hands. that the place He occupies in our souls is reaffirmed." "Mercedes?" "sir." "Everyone around here." "The stutterer spoke of an informer." "Here... at the mill." "Can you imagine?" "Right under my nose." "please." "What must you think of me?" "You must think that I'm a monster." "sir." "please." "sir." "aren't you forgetting something?" "Sir?" "The key." "don't I?" "sir." "there's an odd detail that's been bothering me." "but... the lock itself wasn't forced." "it's probably not important." "Be very careful." "sir." "Ofelia!" "I'm leaving tonight." "Where to?" "l can't tell you." "I can't tell you... no." "I can't." "I promise." "Take me with you." "I heard something." "don't worry." "Mercedes." "Ofelia." "How long have you known about her?" "How long have you been laughing at me?" "Little bitch!" "Watch her! kill her first." "Dry meat." "Tobacco." "Mercedes." "I want the names of whoever wrote these letters." "tomorrow." "Captain." "Garces." "Captain?" "she's just a woman." "That's what you've always thought." "That's why I was able to get away with it." "l was invisible to you." "Damn." "You've found my weakness:" "Pride." "But it's your weak points we're interested in." "It's very simple: you will talk..." "And I have to know that everything you say is the truth." "We have a few things here strictly for that purpose." "Nothing complicated." "Things we learn on the job." "At first..." "I'm not some old man!" "Not a wounded prisoner!" "Mother Fucker!" "Don't you dare touch the girl?" "Won't be the first pig I gutted." "Look!" "He let her go." "The fuck did you say?" "Get her!" "Come on!" "Bring her to me!" "damn it!" "Mount up!" "It'll be better if you come with me without struggling." "The Captain said that if you behave... sweetheart." "If anyone's going to kill you..." "I'd rather it be me." "I've decided to give you one last chance." "Do you promise to do what I say?" "without question?" "This is your last chance." "Then listen to me." "Fetch your brother Your Highness." "My brother?" "We need him." "But..." "No more questions." "The door's locked." "create your own door." "with your permission." "Come quickly." "Now what?" "Serrano is back." "He's wounded." "Wounded?" "Where's Garces?" "How many were there?" "Captain." "at least." "The rest of the men didn't make it." "Our watch posts are not responding." "sir." "We're leaving." "Together." "Don't be afraid." "Nothing is going to happen to you." "Put them on picket duty at the tree line." "have it report immediately to me." "now." "Captain." "Leave him!" "Ofelia! give him to me. we can open the portal." "Why is that in your hand?" "The portal will only open if we offer the blood of an innocent." "that's all." "It's the final task." "Hurry." "You promised to obey me!" "Give me the boy!" "No!" "My brother stays with me." "You would give up your sacred rights for this brat you barely know?" "I would." "You would give up your throne for him?" "such humiliation?" "I would." "Your Highness." "No!" "My son." "Tell my son..." "Tell him what time his father died." "Tell him that I..." "No." "He won't even know your name." "my daughter." "Come." "Father." "You have spilled your own blood rather than that of an innocent." "and the most important." "Your Highness. and sit by your father's side." "He's been waiting for you so long." "And it is said the princess returned to her father's kingdom." "That she reigned there with justice and a kind heart for many centuries." "That she was loved by her people. visible only to those who know where to look."