Pan's Labyrinth Movie Review

Movie Review of Pan's Labyrinth

Directed by: Guillermo del Toro

       PLOT SUMMARY

     As the film opened, a short fairytale was introduced. It talked about Princess Moana’s adventure outside the Underworld. However, her adventure ended when she became blinded by the sun, causing her death. Her father, the King of the Underworld, believed that someday, her spirit will come back in the Underworld and regain her throne. 

     Meanwhile in the real world, Ofelia and her pregnant mother were travelling to see her stepfather, Captain Vidal. Captain Vidal was known as a ruthless man. As the journey begins, Ofelia’s mother suddenly felt pain so they have to start the car. When the car came to a stop, Ofelia saw a stick like creature. She followed it and described it as a fairy. As a person who loved fairy tales, she believed that this creature is part of a fairytale. Ofelia then met her stepfather. She was terrified of him, as he was a firm believer of Falaganism. Upon arrival, she also met Mercedes, Captain Vidal’s resident housekeeper. She was working with the rebels, to save her brother Pedro together with Doctor Ferreiro. Ofelia was suddenly woken up in the middle of the night. She saw the same stick like figure which led her to the labyrinth. There she met the faun, her guardian in the Underwolrd. He explained to her that she’s Princess Moanna and in order to return home, she needs to complete three tasks. 

     The first task is to acquire a key inside a toad’s stomach. In order to get that, Ofelia must crawl inside a tree where the toad lived. So she convinced the toad to surrender the key to her, therefore completing the first task. Unfortunately, during that time, her mother became very sick. So the faun gave her a mandrake root. He instructed her to put it under her mom’s bed and give it life. As the days passed, her mom’s condition improved. 

     The second task is to get a dagger in a safe with the Pale Man. The Pale Man is a notorious child eater. So Ofelia has to be careful. The faun then warned her that the Pale Man is very dangerous, so she must not give in to temptations. However, Ofelia grab a grape and ate it. This awakened the Pale Man whom chased her and ended up eating two fairies instead. Because of her disobedience, the faun refused to give her the third task. 

     Then Captain Vidal ended up killing Doctor Ferreiro and imprisoning Mercedes after finding out that they collaborated with the rebels. The mandrake root was put to fire by Ofelia’s mom, killing it. Meanwhile, the birth of Ofelia’s brother is approaching, and Captain Vidal is getting excited. However, a complication in the birth resulted to Ofelia’s mother’s death. 

     Captain Vidal proceeded to steal his son away from Ofelia and shot her. he was then cornered in the labyrinth by the rebels. So, he handed his son to Mercedes and Pedro ended up killing Captain Vidal. The faun told Ofelia that in order for her to go back to the Underwolrd, a drop of blood is needed. Since she’s already dead, her blood became the sacrifice. Ofelia’s spirit descended in the Underworld and she was reunited with her family again. The faun revealed that the third task is to sacrifice her life instead of someone’s else, and she did just that by giving her blood instead of her brother’s. Princess Moanna regained her position and lived happily ever after with her family back in the Underworld. 

RELEVANCE TO SOCIETY AND SYMBOLISM

I think that it’s related to society because it tackles greed. Nowadays, all people care about are status and wealth. They will do anything just to be at the top of the pyramid. People became selfish and just think about themselves. This is the sad part of modern reality. As for the symbolism, it’s all about women representation. From the sacrifice that Ofelia’s mom did to the love that Mercedes gave to her brother and Ofelia. Both these women are powerful and strong. They will do anything for their family.

PERSONAL REALIZATIONS

It talks about the importance of making life choices. Ofelia had a choice which is to not return in the first place. However, she is determined to regain her old life back. So she set out and completed that three difficult tasks. Meanwhile, she also sacrificed her life to save her brother in the real world. Lastly, I will rate the movie as 4/5 stars. I liked the cinematography but it’s too violent for me. However, Del Torro, combined dark fantasy with historical elements that added a blend to the story itself.