I stand corrected.

Remember when I said that, film-wise, this was a decidely average year? No? Well, shame on you, because that was last fucking week. Anyway, I still think it was a mediocre year, at best, but december had not one, but two surprises in store.

First off there was Alfonso Cuarón's Children Of Men - a hauntingly bleak vision of a world in which mankind is slowly going extinct due to a global infertility among women. Its depiction of a world thrown into chaos and military regime due to the imminent extinction is frightening, mainly because Cuarón manages to paint an unremittingly violent and disturbingly realistic picture. Filled to the brim with ideas, concepts and sub-text (illegal immigrants, the environment, the War on Terror, etc), Children Of Men is one of the most intriguing and unique films out this year.

And on a technical note, this film has two of the best tracking shots I have ever seen, in any film. Ever.

The second is Guillermo Del Toro's magnum opus El Laberinto Del Fauno, perhaps better known as Pan's Labyrinth; a fairy tale set in a war-scarred Spain. The contrast between post-civil war Spain and the protagonist Ofelia's (imaginary?) magical realm is touching, dark, and gorgeously realised. The story alternates between these two utterly different yet inextricably linked narratives; the fairy tale elements blend very naturally into the historical backdrop. That's the true power of this film: as the twin plots progress, they intertwine, with the tasks of Ofelia symbolising the choices faced by a war-torn Spain. The harsh poignancy of the film lies within the juxtaposition between Ofelia's victory and Spain's failure.

This, my friends, is the best film of 2006.

Did you hear me? The guy who gave us Blade II and Hellboy just delivered the year's best. Suck on that.

Oh, and merry Christmas.