Just got back from “Pan’s Labyrinth.” Woah. I don’t even know what to say. I actually had a Spanish class just last semester on Franco’s Post-war dictatorship, so I came into the film with a pretty clear understanding of the historical context. The best way I can describe this movie is Alice in Wonderland meets Silent Hill… only with a bunch of dark, dark Spanish history thrown in.
It’s one thing to hear in a history class about the horrors of war… and another thing to view it, unfiltered, through the eyes of a child. I almost feel like I’d have to see it again to really get a full grasp on everything that took place (I um… I had to leave the theater a coupe of times… I don’t handle human suffering in movies very well at all… though I did have the advantage that since I more or less understand Spanish I heard what was going on even with my eyes closed.) I also noticed, interestingly enough, that some of the translation to English wasn’t truly reflective of what was being said in Spanish.
(RATHER LARGE SPOILER HERE):
For example, at the very end when she’s holding the baby and the faun asks if she will sacrifice him, she screams, “I won’t!” in the English translation. But the actual Spanish is (best as I could hear) “I sacrifice myself!” I don’t understand why they would drop such a powerful statement in the English translation.
I guess I’m pretty happy they didn’t shrink away from the hard reality of war (more like they bludgeon you in the face with it,) but it’s hard to come out of the theater feeling good about humanity. At the same time, it was visually breathtaking and very imaginative. My husband loved it. He described it as fascinating and terrifying. I really did feel like I had a personal stake in the wellbeing of the characters.
I know it just came out, and since it’s a foreign flick, I don’t know if any of you would be rushing out to see it on the first night. I just wondered what others took from this film. I don’t have too much knowledge about Greek mythology but I felt there were a lot of references to this…
ANOTHER IMPORTANT SPOILER HERE:
For example the forbidden grapes she ate–perhaps a reference to the story of Persephone? And the whole Faun thing in general – who was Pan in Greek mythology and what might he symbolize here?
Does anybody here know how it’s been received in Spain? I know until quite recently there’s been a huge push to ignore the reality of Franco’s dictatorship and the Spanish Civil War… and this movie is clearly anti-Franco. Mr. Olives just mentioned that it had a 22-minute standing-O at the Cannes Film Festival. It’s gotten very high ratings and all sorts of awards, apparently.