“Pan’s Labyrinth” shows the power that movies are supposed to have.

The surreal beauty, reminiscent of a Salvador Dali painting, shows a worthy winner of the Best Cinematography Oscar given in February. The only bad thing about it is that my TV restricts the epic greatness to a depressing 26 inches. This is something like finding out the relatively small size of the Mona Lisa or seeing your favorite movie god stumble on a crack in the sidewalk. It seems unfitting.

Of course, outer beauty only goes so far, so how is this movie’s personality? Well, it has the always entertaining combination of uncommon and thought-provoking.

I rented this movie expecting a psychedelic fantasy for 10-year-olds. The first few opening scenes did not detour this belief, but a surprising and very R-rated nose bashing was not far away. The rest of the movie was spent wondering who the target audience was.

Although this movie is very much a fantasy, one of its themes is comparable to “American Beauty.” The cruel adult world is known for murdering an individual’s creativity and for being a restricting and unimaginative place. This movie shows that there is still beauty in such a world as long as one knows where to look.

Also, the non-fantasy part of the movie has an obvious statement that deals with an unquestioned faith in authority and blind devotion to an absurd cause.

Its looks are gorgeous, its plot has an unexpected depth and its ending is perfect. This movie, in many ways, is a flower among weeds.