I found Pan's Labyrinth to be a very eerie and twisted movie. I had no idea what the film was about (except for the e-mail we got) before watching it. I was disappointed that there weren’t that many violent scenes in the movie, because there were so many executions in real life. At the same time I was surprised at the execution, because the movie seemed to be made for children. I also had a feeling that the film had a underlying message about woman in most societies.
Pan's Labyrinth is one of those movies that parents might have trouble letting their younger children go see. The movie seemed to be very dark and had violent elements to it. Most of these scenes had something to do with Captain Vidal. Smith talks about the beginning of the film “Pan’s Labyrinth begins with a blank, black screen. We hear the sound of feverish panting and the humming of Javier Navarrete’s haunting theme” (Smith 4). This is a gloomy way to open a movie. Then Smith goes on to explain another scene by saying “(Ofelia) descends the staircases of a vast fantasy set.
The screen flares up to white and the camera swoops over bombed buildings. A wide shot of a ruined bell tower shows the famously devastated village of Belchite” (Smith 4). This is the first sign that this couldn’t be a film for children. But then at the same time one could be easily confused by the scenes that deal just with Ofelia. Most of these scenes deal with magic and make believe.
The underlying message I got from the film was that women being the hero is more of a fantasy. I don’t agree with this message but it still fits with the movie. Ofelia was only able to be the hero with things that aren’t real. Edwards writes “This merging of the worlds is also an organic and growing phenomenon that begins with the relatively in signify the chalk - for how did Ofelia escape from a guarded room to reach the Captain's study if not for a magic door?” (Edwards 143). Then things are brought back to reality with “Ofelia's mother dismisses fairy-tales as the stuff of childhood and even sympathetic Mercedes says she herself outgrew such fantasies” (Edwards 143). This message is that girls or woman can’t be the hero if only for magic or make believe. I would of like to see Ofelia be the hero with less magical aspects. She did save her brother with her heart and beliefs in right or wrong, but that was it.
Work Cited
Edwards, Kim. “Alice’s Little Sister: Exploring Pan’s Labrinth”. Film As Text:1931- 2008. Print
Smith, Paul. “Pan’s Labyrinth El Laberinto Del Fauno”. Film Quarterly, 2006. Vol 60. Print
I definitely agree with you on your views of the film possibly not being for children. I also felt as though this film was more violent and dark than most children's movies are. I do feel though as far as Ofelia goes, that she was the hero in some real life things. Even though she got into the Captain's room through the use of chalk (which was make believe), she still got in there. And she was the hero for her baby brother by taking him away from the Captain. Also, Ofelia was the hero for her baby brother again when the Captain came and found her at the Laybrinth and took the baby, and she yelled back at him "no!". The Captain then shot her which was not the best ending for her, but her baby brother was still rescued because Mercedes then took the baby from the Captain. Everything worked out for the best for Ofelia because she ended up in the underworld with her mother, her father, and her baby brother!
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