Getting Out of The Labyrinth

Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro, 2006)

Spanish Title: El Laberinto del Fauno

Plot summary:

It was 1944 in Spain, few years later after the Civil War. There was a girl named Ofelia who’s into fairytales and imaginations, along with her mother, Carmen who’s pregnant with Captain Vidal’s son—Captain Vidal who’s sadistic and reflects an attitude of a typical fascist government military man. Ofelia and Carmen later on moved in into Captain Vidal’s house in an old mill near the woods. While on their way to the captain’s house, Ofelia discovered something—encountered a fairy who lead her way to the maze later on where she met the faun, Pan, revealing that young Ofelia is the princess of the underground kingdom. The faun assigned three tasks for her to accomplish: 1.) Get the golden key inside a giant toad’s mouth, the toad can be found inside the biggest tree in the forest. 2.) There’s this magic chalk that can be used to draw a door to a whole new place, inside that, she must get the dagger, but wait, there’s an ogre pale-looking man that Ofelia should keep an eye out; she must not be tempted to eat any of the ogre’s food or else, the ogre will rise and get her. 3.) This one’s the last but the most thrilled of all. Ofelia is tasked to kill her newly-born brother, and spill his blood, in order for her to open the gates of the underground kingdom and to get her immortality. But Ofelia resisted this offer, which is the point of this test—to see if Ofelia’s sovereignty as an individual. Luckily, she completed. 

Meanwhile, there’s this armed men in the woods who are battling against Captain Vidal’s falangist army. A woman named Mercedes works for Captain Vidal’s kitchen, ironically, she’s the partner of Pedro, one of the armed men in the woods. Her father is also one of the armed men in the woods, with his leg condition, he might not walk again, therefore Mercedes seeks for Doctor Ferreiro’s help, Captain Vidal’s family doctor. Sooner or later, Captain Vidal found out how all of his workers are having a connection with the armed men in the woods. They fought until it’s over, and the armed men in the woods won the battle. At the end, Ofelia reached the underground kingdom where her whole family has been waiting for her together with Pan. 

Film analysis: 

The Magic Realism Theory can be applied in Guillermo Del Toro’s film, Pan’s Labyrinth because the film brought some fantastical and mythological elements into the real world, and it mixes with socially relevant issues in our history after the Civil War in 1944—with that, it really reflects reality in a way that the movie is presented in an imaginary or illusionary way. 

Talking about different scenes and references used in the movie, one that I kept an eye out is when Del Toro showcased a Charles Dicken story-like reference in his book David Copperfield where they story revolves around the coming of age and childhood of a grown-man narrator, David. There was a scene where Ofelia was about to shake-hands with Captain Vidal but turns out she offered the wrong hand; she offered her left hand instead of her right hand, and in that moment, Captain Vidal corrected her in a way that is impermissible. Both David and Ofelia’s stepfathers are cruel men. 

The first trial where Ofelia has to get the key inside the giant toad’s body represents her mother and her upcoming son. Ofelia thinks that the infant inside her mother’s womb is what’s making her sick, therefore she has to get it out or else, it will be a big danger. 

Captain Vidal manifests the ogre Pale Man in the scene wherein he is in a feast together with his other colleagues and his wife. Same instance where the Pale Man sits in front of a feast. It is a resemblance between them. The Pale Man who has every delicious food in front of him but still chooses to eat all children alive. Same goes with Captain Vidal who’s in control of everything. The Pale Man and Captain Vidal are both monsters. 

Remembering the bible story where Abraham’s faith was tested when God asks him to kill his son, Isaac is alike with the scene where Ofelia was tasked by the faun to kill her newly born brother for her to achieve her immortality in the underground kingdom. It just happens that Ofelia’s faith is different from Abraham’s faith. 

There’s also a scene where Captain Vidal was shaving his beard, looking at himself in front of the mirror. After shaving his beard, he pointed knife on the mirror and imaginatively slit his throat. The mirror reflects, and at the same time, it refracts—presenting that he’s a murderer. 

In today’s time, Captain Vidal somehow reflects the doings of Rodrigo Duterte. As what progressive groups are calling him, a “fascist”, “dictator”, or even a “dog” who does whatever his owners (imperialists) are asking him to do. They are the same in a way that their own macho ego are eating them alive. Both of them are patriarchs who act like whatever they command must be done, if not, brutality will most likely happen.

Personal reflection/review:

Personal rating: 4/5 

As a fan of Latin-American fiction, writers like Gabriel Garcia-Marquez, Octavio Paz, Pablo Neruda and Mario Vargas Llosa who blot their inks for the concept of magic realism, it is not new to encounter a story like Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth. The mixture of political and social relevance with a twist of art—breaking Jacques Derrida’s concept of Art for Art’s Sake. Movies that are not just made for the sake of aesthetic are always a precious gem; films reflect the society, therefore, it is for the people. 

The great Mao Zedong once said, “War can only be abolished through war, and in order to get rid of the gun it is necessary to take up the gun.”. This somehow reflects the armed men in the woods who continuously fight for they ideology they believe in. 

Movies like Pan’s Labyrinth are the types of movie that actually move me, personally. It reminded me of Banksy’s quotation: “Art should comfort the disturbed, and disturb the comfortable.”—a sudden realization that there’s still an on-going war between the upper class men and the lower class men. It somehow reflects today’s society, Duterte and the three wars (drug war, Martial Law in Mindanao, and all-out war) under his regime. 

It is really pleasing to have Pan’s Labyrinth in the movie industry because it encompases different perspectives we could all relate and study on. The strong usage of relevant references were showcased, and I think that’s more than enough to applaud this movie.