This has to be something of a first: In a compilation of the best movie of the year, two reviewers for The Associated Press picked a Spanish-language film as the top choice of 2006. But they didn't pick the same movie: Christy Lemire named Pedro Almodóvar's Volver as the best of the year, calling it "a great film about strong women from a man who loves and appreciates them." Reviewer David German, on the other hand, made his top choice Guillermo del Toro's El laberinto del fauno, calling it a "wondrous hybrid of stark historical drama and wildly inventive fantasy."

The two films almost certainly will become the most popular Spanish-language films of 2006 in the United States. Volver has made its mark already internationally, grossing some $67 million at the box office, making it the No. 2 non-English-language film so far in 2006, not too far behind South Korea's sci-fi flick Gwoemul. Volver is approaching the $3 million mark in the United States — paltry for typical Hollywood fare, but better than average for a subtitled film — although it has yet to go into a truly wide release.

Don't be too surprised if you hadn't heard about El laberinto del fauno until now. Although it has been shown at many international film festivals, it has been distributed little outside Spain and Mexico. It doesn't open in the United States until Friday, just in time for the film to qualify for Academy Award nominations. Although its title could be literally translated into English as The Labyrinth of the Faun, it is being marketed as Pan's Labyrinth. It tells the story of a girl named Ofelia, played by Ivana Baquero, in the fascist Spain of 1944. She encounters fantastical creatures and enters into mysterious quests that blend fantasy and reality.

You can expect to be hearing more about these films next year. Volver is Spain's Academy Award nomination for the best foreign-language film of the year, and El laberinto is Mexico's.

Here are some resources for learning more about this film:

From About:

• Pan's Labyrinth review (from About's Guide to Horror and Suspense Movies)
• Pan's Labyrinth review (from About's Guides to World Film)
• Pan's Labyrinth movie (compilation by About's Guide to Hollywood Movies)

Others:

• Official Spanish-language site
• Official English-language site
• El Laberinto del fauno on ClubCine (synopsis and other information about the film, with a link to the trailer, in Spanish)
• El laberinto del fauno: gran film realista con un par de escenas fantásticas (review in Spanish)
• El labertinto del fauno on FilmAffinity (film reviews by everyday users, in Spanish)
• Pan's Labyrinth: Best Picture of 2006 (review in English)
• Pan's Labyrinth (BBC review)