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| Subject: Re: Pan's Labyrinth | |
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Author: Kylopod |
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Date Posted: 14:51:44 09/22/07 Sat Author Host/IP: pool-71-246-77-113.bltmmd.east.verizon.net/71.246.77.113 In reply to: Mr. Bungle 's message, "Re: Pan's Labyrinth" on 08:04:44 09/21/07 Fri >As the second part of >his unfinished Spanish Civil War trilogy, Pan's >Labyrinth bears some stylistic and narrative >resemblance to his also excellent The Devil's >Backbone, but seems like a step forward when factoring >in the fantasy elements and how it moves from >Backbone's creepy ghost story to horror that is not at >all supernatural. It appears that we have approached the film from different angles. I saw it as an unusually dark variant on the age-old genre where a child enters a fantasy world to escape the turmoil of her outside life. >(to be honest, the end still puts a bit of a lump in >my throat). I had the same reaction. I really didn't expect the ending. I mean, I knew it was a possibility, but it's a very unusual sort of ending for this type of film. The murder of a child is itself a pretty rare sight in the movies, let alone a child who's the main character, in a film influenced by scores of children's movies. The structure of this film bears some comparison with Terry Gilliam's "Brazil," but that film had a surprisingly upbeat feel, despite the darkness of the ending. >>People like the father really existed during World War >>II. He isn't even charming, which makes us wonder what >>the mother ever saw in him. The girl's real father was >>his tailor, and after the father died he impregnated >>the mother. Presumably she was attracted to his sense >>of order and power, though I have a more sinister >>theory. He seems not to care one whit about her >>failing health. All that matters to him is that she >>delivers a healthy baby so that he can achieve his own >>immortality, which parallels what the girl is seeking. > > I think she just wanted to make sure her child grew >up on the winning side. Are you serious? My most radical theory was that he murdered the father and raped the mother. Or perhaps he simply seduced her. She seems to hint at a time when he was good to her, but since we never see his charming side, it's hard for us to imagine that he ever had one. >>He is so uncompromisingly evil that, in some ways, he >>seems more like a fairy tale character than any of the >>creatures she encounters in the labyrinth. > > I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say this guy >isn't necessarily evil. What would he have to do or be like in order for you to consider him evil? >He's convinced he's right. So was Hitler. >He's got a job to do, and he thinks he's acting in the >best interests of the country He seems to enjoy seeing people suffer. He isn't just "doing his job." Of course, any job that involves shooting little girls dead would usually be considered "evil," regardless of the motive. >I think this makes him more unnerving and >dangerous, because evil has supernatural connotations It does? >>One thing the movie doesn't do is create a full >>magical world. > > Huh? Count the magical places she visits. There are only three (the labyrinth, the tree, and the boogeyman's lair), and the movie spends relatively little time in each one. Thus, we get only a small glimpse of the fantasy world. >The labyrinth is never explored in any >>detail. > > Because it's the product of her mind. So's Oz, to Dorothy. >I think the fantasy elements are >an allegory for her fear, her inability to deal with >how much she hates her life (outside of her mother and >unborn sibling), and possibly mental illness, which is >exactly why I found the resolution so moving. I agree, but as I said I don't think allegory can stand on its own. It should be cohesive at a literal level too. >>I am less inclined than some other viewers to probe >>the question of whether the girl's fantasies are real >>or not. (A third possibility is that the girl has some >>kind of psychic premonition, since many of the >>real-world events seem to happen after being >>foreshadowed in the fantasy sequences.) > > I'd call that a fourth possibility. I'm not following you. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| Subject | Author | Date |
| Re: Pan's Labyrinth | Jimmy | 07:46:04 09/23/07 Sun |
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| Re: Pan's Labyrinth | Mr. Bungle | 10:47:56 10/01/07 Mon |
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