Pan's Labyrinth: The Dark Fairy Tale

This is a fantasy realm so fully and elegantly realized, it might have been a classic novel, but it was Del Toro’s imagination. Del Toro calls Pan's Labyrinth a dark fantasy for adults, because the violence it contains is certainly not suited for children.  The col-blooded attacks of the Captain towards others (he shoots a rebel after smashing his face unrecognizable with a broken bottle) and himself. The scene where he, after having his own cheek cut open, sutures it by himself and takes a swig of tequila, is both brutal and Oscar-worthy. Brilliant cinematography, Del Toro juxtaposes the reality of war to the fantasy world and somehow shows the audience that the fantasy world is more real and life like than reality. He uses contrasting color like bleak washed out cool colors for the outside world and lively, bright warm colors for the fantastical world. This film was a commentary on war as well as September 11^th.

For much of the film, Ofelia's fairy-tale quest is secondary to the power struggles in the house with a checkerboard like interaction yet seamless filming. Tensions bubble between the Captain and Ofelia's weak mother, and especially the Captain and the housekeeper Mercedes. The captain is a sociopath, obsessed with small details on using his magnifying glass and pouring over the watch his father gave him. In his psychotic obsessions, he misses the big details of the world. The faeries and fawn are ambiguous and neither good nor bad. The nurse Mercedes is good, even as she rebels because she values human life.

It is a fantasy film because there is the element of magic through the fairies and the book the fawn gives. The womb is the entry of fantasy world, and there are reoccurring images of fallopian tubes and placental tones. Even the fairies are organic. The tree is a reference to Alice in Wonderland. Magic affects the real world when the book predicts the miscarriage. Music in that scene is reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s “Is Anybody Out There?” eerie intro. Ofelia realizes the power of magic and that no matter what, she must trust her instincts. Disobedience to the majority of societal pressures leads to the right door opening (with the key and freedom).

Ogres eat innocence, even though they have a feast of food set out before them. This whole scene is the echo of the feast the captain has with all of the people, even though most people are boiling roots to survive. All of the characters are at crossroads in the movie, which is when they decide to put childish toys away and lose a part of their soul. This is the melancholy truth of becoming an adult. It is not the tests, but how Ofelia approaches the tests makes the difference. In the end the captain becomes human when he asks for the rebels to tell his son who he was, and Mercedes replies he will never know your name. This kills him before the bullet does.  Ofelia becomes immortal because she made the right choice, which is to refuse death and its sting. Only if you dare to die, will you reach immortality.