Pan's Labyrinth



Growing up, my family and I have always enjoyed watching and reading anything that fell into the fantasy or science fiction genre, and Pan's Labyrinth falls perfectly into that fantasy section. Pan's Labyrinth can be described as a dark fantasy film and Guillermo del Torro fully embraces this description. He does so by creating a realistic fable that leaves you wondering if any of the events Ofelia went through were real or if it was all in her head. Throughout the film, del Torro shares both the wonder-filled, child-like side of fantasy as well as the darker side through his iconic monsters, with some genuinely horrifying moments to snap the viewer back into a sense of reality. 

The primary lens of the film focuses on Ofelia, who discovers that she is supposedly the daughter of the King of the Underworld. To prove she hasn't become entirely human and still contains an amount of  "godly" essence within her, Ofelia must complete three trials that will test her strength, wits, perseverance, compassion, and more. She successfully completed the first task with no issues, however when it came time to complete the second task, Ofelia makes the mistake of eating a handful of grapes from the feast in front of her. From the very first grape she eats, we can see the monster depicted as the Pale Man begins to awaken. This sequence leads to an iconic scene that even those without any previous experience with this movie, have seen the infamous monster that del Torro created. 

 

When watching a film that isn't in a language the viewer understands, extra attention is required to fully grasp the concept of the film and all the events that occur. As we watched this film in the original Spanish it may have been more difficult to grasp any minute details however, I feel that watching any type of content in its original language helps to promote a better and deeper understanding of the film compared to watching it with English dubbed over the Spanish. It is easier to fully and properly experience the feelings and emotions that the actors put behind the words when hearing them directly from them, even if you have to use subtitles to know what is being said. 

Comments

  1. dr. kyburzNovember 14, 2022 at 10:16 AM

    THE PALE MAN. Ooph! Great post, Maureen. As you know, this clip is IT!

    ReplyDelete

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