Whilst I can’t say my weekends are the cultural anomoly that Mr Scott clearly enjoys (See Cultural Runnings - June 2007), I always like to spend a sizeable chunk enjoying films from far and wide. In fact, if Mr Scott’s posts are a little like BBC 2’s vintage arts fair ‘The Late Show’, I’ll take mine to be a little bit like Film ‘94 (I use ‘94 advisedly for, at this precise point in time, Barry Norman was gently drifting into quaint but amiable senility). And why not?

This weekend, I bought a copy of Pan’s Labyrinth, three-time Academy Award-winning Spanish language film written and directed by Guillermo del Toro. It’s an an unusual and moving story, seen through the eyes of a young girl enraptured by fairy stories.

Set in post-Civil War Spain in 1944, the story of Ofilia and her surreal journey towards a telling fate feels like a live-action version of Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away; breathtakingly art-directed, with visceral and unsettling imagery and some really strong performances from a largely unknown cast. Anyone that may remember some of the grown-up, art-house fairy tale shockers of the 80’s (’Labyrinth’ and ‘Company of Wolves’ whizz to mind) can rest assured of a little more style and alot more substance with this film.

Above all, it’s well worth digging into your pocket for. Or indeed awaiting it’s inclusion into the Blackbridge Movie Club (BlackBuster? BlockBridge? You choose) - the little shelf by the studio where random DVDs live. Until next week, popcorn-dodgers…