Pans Labyrinth Film Analysis free essay sample

The story is set in the year 1944, in the country-side of a post-Civil War Spain. A young and imaginative girl named Ofelia, played by Ivana Baquero, travels with her pregnant mother, Carmen Vidal, who is very ill; in order to meet and live with her stepfather, a cruel and sadistic man named Capitan Vidal (Sergi Lopez). During the first night of their stay, Ofelia meets a fairy that leads her to a pit in the center of a labyrinth where they soon meet a faun (Doug Jones). The faun tells Ofelia that she is a princess from a faerie kingdom underground, where her father, the king, waits for her arrival. However, she must accomplish three gruesome and dangerous tasks in order to prove her immortality. During her stay, she befriends a servant, Mercedes, who is sister to one of the rebels and is secretly giving support to the group. In order to escape the realities of her dark and violent world, Ofelia lives in her magical world trying to carry out the three tasks that will reunite her with her father and their kingdom. We will write a custom essay sample on Pans Labyrinth Film Analysis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The film is of many opposites: good versus evil, reality versus fiction, innocence versus adulthood, over-world versus underworld. Thus, the director’s overlying theme is anything but subtle. He directed this film as to make a statement about the lengths that children will go to in order to protect themselves and the ones they love in times of extreme hardship. He also goes to show that the central theme in Pan’s Labyrinth is the essential role that imagination plays in the lives of children, especially in times of great distress. Even the ending of the film can be interpreted in two opposite ways: either Ofelia had created an enchanted world in her head to escape the harsh realities of real life or she simply was an awakened being who saw what those could not see and ultimately completed her process of illumination in order to be immortal. Techniques such as dialogue, blatant symbolism, and lighting are effectively used by Guillermo del Toro in this fantasy-horror film to solidify his theme. He uses these most prominently to depict the film’s villain as an authoritarian, power-hungry, and cruel man. This harsh commander has total power over the rural town that he inhabits and the steely-blue lighting is able to demonstrate that immaculately. It illustrates a gloomy atmosphere that he himself has created, as whenever there are scenes set in his village, the cold blue tones are cast over the screen. The blue lighting is there to highlight that the events in reality are cold-natured and unjust. He speaks only in a short and sharp manner, consistently ordering other’s about. The techniques by del Toro are used to manipulate the viewer’s attitude towards Vidal thus giving a strict, controlling, and heartless impression of him. Lighting is used as a major technique in this film as it is often used to set the mood. Due to Vidal’s world always being shown enveloped in blue-grey hue, it immediately shows the viewers that is isn’t a welcoming place to be. This shade of lighting helps create a detached feeling which is in great contrast to the golden, homely, and warm lighting of Ofelia’s fantasy world portraying a safe and enchanting atmosphere. This is most apparent at the end of the film when Ofelia is lying in the labyrinth close to death. When Vidal has just shot her, dark blue shadows loom into the air, they begin to cover the labyrinth and cast shadows over Ofelia’s pale face. This lighting creates a miserable mood as the camera pan’s in closer to Ofelia’s face and as we see her blood dripping from her fingers. Then suddenly, we are taken through the portal into the magical underground kingdom of Ofelia’s dreams. There you bathe in golden light helping the kingdom portray itself as welcoming and homely, thus showing Ofelia that she’s finally where she belongs. This shocking contrast in luminosity between the two worlds highlights the extreme difference between Vidal’s oppressive world and the faerie kingdom where Ofelia finds happiness. It also illustrates just how cruel and domineering Capitan Vidal has become, and how very different Ofelia’s world would have been had he not been present. Although the captain’s dialogue remains relentlessly vicious throughout the film, the dialogue of others’ indicates the harshness of the events that take place. At the start of the film, Mercedes, one of Vidal’s housekeepers, appears to be a polite and shy woman. However, as the film develops, so does her attitude. Nearing the end of the film she calls obscenities and tells him â€Å"you won’t be the first pig I’ve gutted†. Mercedes’ metamorphosis is suggestion to the viewer that something is about to change and that it will be a good revision. This depiction of Mercedes through her dialogue gives the viewers a chance to feel good about the ending of the film, for they see Vidal in a cruel light, which makes the viewer feel better when he is defeated. Much too often, fairytales are stripped of their darkest and most threatening elements. Instead they are filled with undeniable morals, enchanted creatures, and an overall sense of happiness. However, that is what sets this film from the others. Audiences generally dislike the film due to its darkness, its sorrow, and the tragedy of its ending. They find the brutality of the Captain to be distasteful and the scenes too graphic. And for many reasons, the film’s darkness overshadows the light. It seems to me that many viewers are repulsed by the film and cannot bear to watch it again. That being said, I however, love Pan’s Labyrinth because of its raw darkness, harshness, and sorrow. I would tell others that when they view this film, to watch it not only once, but twice; for I believe that you will not be able to get a sense of the true beauty and meaning of this story the first time around. This assignment has given me a greater respect for not only the film itself but the art of analyzing and interpreting films. Prior to this, I had seen Pan’s Labyrinth only once many years ago. My prior feelings of the film were that it was much too tragic and crude for my personal taste. Also, I was much younger when I first saw the film, which I believe to be a major factor in how I once viewed this story. However, once I had learned how analyze a film and how to better understand an author’s intentions and vision I acquired a much greater respect for this film. I now see it not only as a movie, but as a brilliant piece of cinematic art that forces us to look at the effects of war and hostility on a human being, regardless of age. It too, took me back into a place in a child’s imagination that I wish I never had lost.