watched this flick last night and was all kinds of impressed. the cinematography is unlike any movie i've ever seen. think pans labyrinth with a more adventurous plot.

I agree with this recommendation. This film is fantastic, it will make you laugh, cry, get angry, be enchanted mesmerized and in short, what ttowsque said. Blow you away. It is one of the few movies with truly superb acting by a young child. What I would add to the Pan's Labyrinth remark is that it not nearly as dark. I had a problem watching pan's labyrinth due to the gratuitous violence. Although towards the end this has some of its own it is worth watching through that. Completely endearing. As an added bit of trivia to those who have already seen this, and for those who have not, you will understand later, through some miscommunication the little girl thought the other lead was truly paraplegic. For eight weeks the director and rest of the cast kept this hidden from her. By the end of the film there was a real bond between them.