Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth: Official Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Kevin M]

Me personally I saw it as a parable to the dinner scene with the Captain (which if you look at the dining room of both they are quite similar, even down to the fireplace being behind both the captain and the beast), they all say "we are hear by choice" but there are consequences for eating from the table of a "monster" no matter how easy or attractive it may seem.
I don't think Ofelia was under any spell but rather let her own greed & desire get the better of her, influence her better or "moral" judgment just like most of the people at the Captain's table had done.

 

[JonZ]

To support Holadems view someone from IMDB wrote "I also believe that she was enchanted into eating the food. I read once that if you're caught in a fairy world, you shouldn't eat or drink anything because you'll never want to leave. Yes she was hungry. Yes she was defiant. But she ate the grapes because they looked soooo gooood. The fairies couldn't stop her. She couldn't stop herself."

I saw this again tonight because I couldnt wait until the weekend and caught something I missed the first time. When Ofelia comes back to the portal the second time she is looking at the tablet. The Faun says that its him and her on the tablet. Ofelia replies "Whos the baby?" and the Faun changes the subject. This tells me they had a awareness of future events. If so then they prob knew she would fail the second test and its why they gave her another chance(On second viewing, the Faun seems to be showing her alot of sympathy in this scene). Also the fairies Pale Man killed were alive again in the palace, unless they were different fairies. Maybe it was a lesson for her to learn about the consequences of her actions/choices.

This film is full of viewer interpretations.

 

[Henry Gale]

Guillermo del Toro was Terry's guest on Fresh Air today. If you'd like to hear a fascinating 50-minute interview, you can listen to it, anytime, at npr.org

 

[Kevin M]

That was exactly my point, her (and everyone's) choices have consequences so choose wisely....pretty much the point of the film IMO.

 

[Tim Glover]

I've scanned this thread with one eye closed since I haven't seen PL yet. Still not playing here. :frowning:....but did read a bit about The Devil's Backbone. I noticed this last night at my local Blockbuster in the foreign film section.

You all who have seen this and/or PL think it's good to see Devil's Backbone first or is it necessary? Thoughts? I'd like to rent it but don't want to spoil anything from Labrynth either.

Thanks

 

[Kevin M]

It's not necessary to see Backbone before Pan, as they are not connected plot wise, but they do make great companion pieces as they are both allegories of the Spanish Civil War and it's consequences.

 

[Holadem]

As noted above, both movies share common elements, similar time and settings and at times, tone, but the stories (and themes IIRC) are completely unrelated, one will not spoil the other, any more than Schindler's list would spoil Saving Private Ryan.

I should mention that I find DB one of the most depressing flicks around. It's a good movie, but I am in no hurry to see it again.

--
H

 

[Claire Panke]

I like DB a lot - in fact it was on cable last week and I watched it twice.

I would recommend you see it for its own sake. It's one of the best ghost movies ever.

As already mentioned, Pan shares some elements with DB but they are very different films...good campanion pieces but it's not necessary to see them together.

 

[Tim Glover]

Thanks for the tips. ...think I'll give it a rental next week. Went there earlier tonight and it was gone. Perhaps there's a HTF member lurking around in my neck of the woods and beat me to it.

 

[Justin*Smith]

I just saw PL tonight and I really enjoyed the film. As a matter of fact, I'm not entirely sure how to describe what I feel; all I can say is wow. On a side note, I've been humming, whistling the lullaby since I left the theater.
I wasn't sure about seeing a foreign language film with subs, but after a few minutes, I was watching the picture and just kind of absorbing the subs. I really am going to give some effort to get my wife to go see this.
Is it me, or did Pale Man look like he was fresh out of a Tool video, haha?

 

[Patrick Sun]

Did Vidal remind anyone of Luke Wilson (with a somewhat wider forehead)?

 

[JohnRice]

I just thought I'd toss in what seemed like an obvious factor to Ofelia eating the grapes, which is the obvious Biblical parallel of the apple. That was my first impression, at least. In the end, I personally go with the "enchantment" theory.

Impressive film.

 

[MikeRS]

Vidal kinda reminded me of a young Bryan Ferry..

 

[Kevin M]

You see the comparison to Adam and the apple is more in line with my way of thinking except without enchantment, it is about temptation and greed without thinking of consequences, no matter what the warning signs are.

 

[JonZ]

I thought you guys might like to see this. I mentioned earlier I was going to do a Faun sculpt, but its hard to find decent reference pics. There was a Pan article in Makeup Artist magazine a couple months back so I ordered it figuring theres be a few good pics in it.

I remember in a interview where Del toro had mentioned that the legs werent all CGI and they worked out a way for his legs to actually move the Fauns legs with some CGI erasing. Heres a pic of it. Pretty cool.

Also picked up the soundtrack, its really great and recommended if you like classical music.

[url=https://static.hometheaterforum.com/imgrepo/e/ec/htf_imgcache_5331.jpeg] [/url]

 

[Mike.P]

Finally caught this on Sunday.

I have really mixed feelings about this. I just found myself completely unmoved, which is strange, as I usually find movies with this type of theme to be quite a charm. It actually reminded me thematically of The Fountain (which I adore), and yet, for some reason it didn't hit me at all. I figured perhaps it was simply because it was both in Spanish and the main character was a young girl, but I feel that is nonsense, I've seen plenty of foreign films and films with characters I don't have a great deal of identity with that are amongst my favorite.

I certainly thought it was a technically and asethetically stunning film. That I can't deny. I'll also buy it in HD, if it reaches the proper venue. Perhaps repeat viewing will add some power to it for me.

I honestly feel it may have worked better for me if more time was spent in the fantasy world, as it was just so riveting; but alas, I'll take what little we were given.

 

[MikeRS]

Of course, it was only by the end credits that I realized the film was a masterpiece. Because it was only then that full weight of these parallel narratives hit me at the deepest emotional levels. It was no longer two narratives - just one brilliant tapestry.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Of course, it's not the same movie had Mercedes simply slashed open Vidal's jugular and let him die instead of just stabbing him and slicing his mouth. End of Vidal, end of the "threat", and what to do about Ofelia's fantasy life? But the film begins with Ofelia near death, so Mercedes had to let Vidal live to get to that point in the opening, but it doesn't make sense for Mercedes to let Vidal live at that point, it's a weak story point, so the sum of the parts don't quite make the film a masterpiece in my eyes.

 

[Mike.P]

I definately agree with you here, Patrick.

 

[Quentin]

I can buy her slicing him but not killing him - she's defiant, but simply doesn't have what it takes to take another's life. Her brother shoots him in the end if I remember correctly. He is a hardened killer at that point.

Now, if she had been the one to shoot him - then you'd have a weak story point.