Pans Labyrinth (2006)
Directed By: Guillermo del Toro
Genre: Drama/Fantasy
Runtime:
118 min.
Won
3 Oscars
Overtime there have been many
films that mix realism with fantasy. But one that stood out in my mind was the
movie Pan’s Labyrinth (2006);
directed by Guillermo Toro. This film did a fantastic job in mixing a real life
situation (the Spanish
Civil war) with a little girl’s dreams. Pan's Labyrinth can be most accurately summarized as a fairytale
turned nightmare, characterized by grotesque mutations of beloved creatures
both real and imaginary. Though the film seems most obviously to be the
nightmare of a little girl lost in an unrelenting world of pain, violence, and
death, the nightmare is not contained. One interesting aspect that made
this movie interesting was that one side of the story (the realism) was
violent, fierce, and forceful. While the other followed the main protagonist
Ofelia through her mystical quest to become queen of a distant world.
There
are certain key elements that are explained in the textbook that make this
movie unique. First off was the cinematography,
which is defined as “The art
or technique of movie photography, including both the shooting and development
of the film.” In Pan’s Labyrinth the cinematography played a major role in the
overall execution of this movie. What made the cinematography so exceptional
was the interesting use of colors throughout certain scenes. When people think of a fantasy they link it
to light colors but Pan’s Labyrinth
(2006) did the exact opposite. The film used a dark bluish color and a
combination light saturated colors to create this dark mystical place. While
when audiences are exploring the “real” world the colors are warm, and very dry
to create a more accurate look. Another element that made this movie
interesting was the editing. Editing is known as “the activity of selecting the scenes to be
shown and putting them together to create a film.” This helped the overall flow
of the film. It helped audiences make that connection on what was “real” and
what was “fake.” The film used a equal balance of shots to help explain both
stories.
Now how does this film relate to
film theory? Well this film used a specific type of theory, which I feel help
it succeed tremendously. This theory was known as the feminist theory. Feminist
theory is theoretical film
criticism derived from feminist politics and feminist
theory. Feminists have
many approaches to cinema
analysis, regarding the film elements analyzed and their theoretical
underpinnings. Some examples from the film that helps support this point is
first the two protagonist in the film are both females. Also it shows that both Mercedes and Ofelia
are both strong willed and can overcome certain difficult tasks. Throughout the
film audiences like myself can see that women are portrayed as strong and smart
which hints toward the feminist theory.
This film did very well in the box
office and received tons of good reviews. For example “Rolling Stones” critic
Peter Travers had nothing but positive things to say about this film. He
pointed out that the characters were phenomenal and were portrayed nicely.
Travers also stated, “Del
Toro never coddles the audience. He means for us to leave Pan's Labyrinth
shaken to our souls. He succeeds triumphantly” (Rolling Stones). Another critic
that thought highly of Pan’s Labyrinth
(2006) is Robert Ebert from the “Chicago Times”. Ebert stated a very strong
statement about this movie saying, "Pan's
Labyrinth is one of the greatest of all fantasy films, even though
it is anchored so firmly in the reality of war”(Chicago Times). These critiques
of this movie make audiences like myself curious to see a movie like this.
Everyone speaks so highly of it, and articles like these make people only want
to see it more.
When I finally saw this film for the
first time in class I thought it was mind blowing. The way the characters
related to the story was unbelievable. The character development played a major
role throughout this film. The lighting was fantastic and helps explain the
story even more. Del Toro did a very nice job connecting his audiences with
this fantasy world and showing the differences between what is “real” and what
is considered fantasy. This movie, I feel has a
very important message behind it, which is that anybody can achieve something
you just have to put your mind to it. I really feel that both Ebert and Travers
made valid points about this film. Del Toro really showed audiences females can
be dominate in the world and fulfill their dreams.
CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM
CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM
1) (Check) I have not handed in this assignment
for any other class.
2) (Check) If I reused any information from other
papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the
paper.
3) (Check) If I used any passages word for word,
I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within
the text.
4) (Check) I have not padded the bibliography. I
have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.
5) (Check) I have cited in the bibliography only
the pages I personally read.
6) (Check) I have used direct quotations only in
cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within
the paper and in the bibliography.
7) (Check) I did not so over-use direct
quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.
8) (Check) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and
therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my
paper.
Name Jason Leavy
Work Cited:
1) IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. <http://www.imdb.com/>.
2) Ebert, Roger. "Pan's Labyrinth :: Rogerebert.com :: Great Movies." Pan's Labyrinth :: Rogerebert.com :: Great Movies. Chicago Times, 25 Aug. 2007. Web. 19 Oct. 2012. <http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070825/REVIEWS08/70825002/1023>.
3) Travers, Peter. "Pan's Labyrinth | Movie Reviews | Rolling Stone." Rollingstone.com. Rolling Stones, 29 Dec. 2006. Web. 19 Oct. 2012. <http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/pans-labyrinth-20061229>.
