Theme Of Pan's Labyrinth

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Pan’s Labyrinth. (2006) Directed by Guillermo Del Toro. [Film] Spain: Tequila Gang, Warner Bro. Is set 1944 Spain after the civil war led by Franco. The film can be seen as a dark fairy tale fantasy with elements of violence. The film’s narrative is set between the real world and fantasy. The film is set around Ofelia, who is the main character we follow her journey as she is forced to move in with the Captain who is fighting a regime. It centres on Ofelia completing tasks that are set by a mysterious faun who believes that Ofelia is Princess Moanna from the underworld. I believe Pan Labyrinth focuses on many themes within the film I love how the director has so many hidden messages within the different themes.
The themes of fantasy, dreams, …show more content…

Within the film all the characters are faced with their own personal tasks of obedience and disobedience. The first encounter we see between Ofelia and Vidal is a tense meeting of different ideas Carmen always obeys Vidal orders, e.g. making her be in wheelchair and doesn’t question his authority as her husband. In the scene Ofelia greets Captain Vidal with her left hand which is seen as disrespectful in many cultures, Vidal informs Ofelia she is greeting him with the wrong hand. This shows the difference between Ofelia and Carmen. The theme of obedience and disobedience is shown through the different characters captain Vidal, Carmen, Ofelia and Mercedes. Each of the three women (Ofelia, Carmen and Mercedes) have very different relationships with Vidal. Carmen is weak and accepts Vidal’s orders, Ofelia is disobedient and Mercedes rejects Vidal’s beliefs. Within the film we see many examples of Carmen obeying Vidal one key example is Carmen destroying the mandrake root that was keeping her alive. She obeyed Vidal’s orders and caused her own death. She accepts Vidal orders in doing this she isn’t protecting Ofelia. She also doesn’t believe in the fantasy world stating to Ofelia at the start “aren’t you too old to be reading fairy tales. Mercedes is the complete opposite she is brave and willing to fight for what she believes in, her role in the film is kind of like the mother she never had by giving Ofelia advice. Also she is the perfect character to be the spy for the rebels as she’s a women and Vidal only see women for one use. He is shocked to find out Mercedes is a spy. Ofelia’s disobedience is shown throughout the film. Ofelia is seen as a disobedient in many different scenes, when she steals the grapes from the

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