A Film Analysis on Pan's Labyrinth





Pan’s  Labyrinth is a story of a young girl named Ofelia that is set in the post civil war in Spain. She is a girl who has a passion for fantasy and fairy tales. The imaginative and young girl travels with her pregnant and sick mother to the country to meet and live with her stepfather, the cruel and sadistic Captain Vidal. Ofelia creates an imaginary world of her own to escape the cruel and harsh realities of the world. Ofelia then meets a fairy and they went to a pit in the center of a maze and there they met a faun that tells that she is a princess from a kingdom in the underground. The faun then served as a guide to Ofelia but he first gave three tasks for her to accomplish in order to meet her father and king.


The movie shows different concepts and scenes for the audience to interpret and understand the real meaning of the story. Pan’s labyrinth can be interpreted in various ways and simultaneous levels like sociological, political and in psychological aspects.  I have noticed that there are quite a lot of symbolisms shown in the movie. The movie has a deep and dark message and shows the presence of myths and symbols that deeply resonate in the collective and personal unconscious. One symbolism that I noticed is the pale man. In the movie, the pale man destroys the stories he encounters. Catching the fairies out the air, biting their heads off after almost shooing them away and killing them. This somewhat represents Captain Vidal. As a known fascist and sadist captain who keeps on killing and shooting people. Another symbolism is when Ofelia placed the missing eye of the faun. It has somewhat represented that there is a great importance placed on eyes and sight in the movie and this scene tells the viewers, right from the start, that Ofelia’s quest is occult in nature as not many have the “eyes to see” the invisible world she is about to experience. When it comes to certain events and happenings in the movie, feminism is shown. Just like in our modern society, it is greatly shown. Mercedes and Ofelia are active and do not depend on males to romantically define their worth.


As a reflection in the film, I can say that it is a great watch. It has shown different ways in showcasing the message. It had made me realize that sometimes it is not bad to be imaginative for one to be able to avoid the societal issues and realities in life. But the movie is quite dark for me and has a lot of scenes that are complicated because some audience can’t get the real message behind the scenes. But I can say that the message is a lesson to be learned especially in iur society today.


3.5/5

Mga Komento

  1. UnknownAbril 12, 2018 nang 8:18 AM

    This is a very interesting review. Some points were made and I'd have to agree that this film has an abundance of symbolism that would really leave the audience racking their minds and render them into concocting their own interpretations of the different elements and of the overall film. I like the bit where you said that sometimes it's not bad to be imaginative as an escape from societal issues and reality in general. That line spoke too directly to me because that's exactly how I do my thing. Great review, Lara! Hope to read more from you.

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