# Pan's Labyrinth: Did I watch the same movie everyone else did? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 17, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343 "2010-02-17T16:19:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343/21 "2010-02-17T19:29:16Z")
Guys, I have read a lot of mythology so I know what the stories I was referring to were called and about (and that they were myths, hence my footnote). I purposely did not name them or the characters. My point was how protagonists in stories often do what they are warned not to do and it goes back a long way in the history of storytelling. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343/22 "2010-02-17T19:36:33Z")
Granted that most of the movie is ambiguous about whether the fantasy world is real, the last act doesn’t really leave any doubt. How does she get out of her room, and get through the maze so quickly, if it’s not? Really, though, I thought that what really made it a masterpiece was how long it did manage to keep things ambiguous. You look at a scene once, and it’s insects crawling on ruins, but then you look again, it’s a fairy castle, and yet it’s exactly the same scene both times. It’s a great subtle visual presentation. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343/23 "2010-02-17T19:40:05Z")
It thought it was a fine movie. Ofelia’s fantasy world parallels what’s happening in the real world, which is to be expected, as it’s her way of dealing with the horrors around her. The difference, of course, is that the fantasy world gives her the illusion that she has some measure of control over what’s happening, and that she might be able to effect a good outcome. And that is, at bottom, is the primary function of fantasy and myth. Meanwhile, although the main story is grittily realistic, we (the audience) feel that there should be some sort of satisfying resolution, as that’s our fantasy, and Del Toro obliges. Sure, Ofelia dies, but so does Vidal, and under much more demeaning circumstances. I wouldn’t say it was any sort of life-changing work of art, but it is a compelling story, well told. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343/24 "2010-02-17T19:40:57Z")
[menonbooks]Hated it![/menonbooks] ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343/25 "2010-02-17T20:10:44Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I’m with you, OP. I liked it okay, but it wasn’t life-changing for me or anything. While you’re watching movies that people rave about that aren’t all that, try “Swept Away,” too. It was…strange. _Swept Away_? With Madonna? somebody \*liked \*that? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343/26 "2010-02-17T20:19:10Z")
There’s a Japanese anime thing with that title too. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343/27 "2010-02-17T20:19:45Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > _Swept Away_? With Madonna? somebody \*liked \*that? Hmmm. Perhaps she meant [Spirited Away](http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=377). ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343/28 "2010-02-17T20:40:10Z")
I didn’t like _Pan’s Labyrinth_ and I didn’t like _Spirited Away_, either. I didn’t watch either of them knowing that they were “amazing”. Didn’t find out until afterwards that everyone in geekdom held them in such high regards…and I kept my mouth shut about it 🙂 Then again, I’m not into fantasy at ALL so I just figured it was me who sucked, not the movies. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343/29 "2010-02-17T21:27:44Z")
“Hey little kid… you can go into a secret fantasy world that… umm is one room, and you can’t, ya know, do anything fun in that room, and you’ll have to be back in 2 minutes. Unless of course you’re not. Hooray Queen!” That ain’t exactly Narnia. ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343/30 "2010-02-17T22:50:29Z")
> [@valleyofthedolls](#): > > Fairy tales are meant to teach a lesson (at least according to Bruno Bettelheim) so if the main character does everything as he is supposed to, there’s nothing to learn. And yeah, they would be pretty dull. > > I don’t think there’s meant to be a lesson in Pan’s Labyrinth, though, just that Del Toro wanted to follow the conventions of the genre and also that those would be the type of stories the girl knew so it would follow that her fantasy world would play out along similar lines. In my interpretation there is a lesson and he uses turns the conventions of fairy tales on their head to deliver it. Fairy tale convention: “You are given a set of instructions and you have to follow them or Bad Things Will Happen”. Lesson of film: “Do not blindly follows orders without thinking for yourself or Fascism Will Happen”. At the end the faun asks her to sacrifice the baby and she refuses. She is right to do so and she passes the test. I felt the message of not bowing to authority and thinking for yourself was the link with the historial events in “real life”. I love the film, for its imagery yes, but especially for the message I read into it. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343/31 "2010-02-17T23:16:57Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Hmmm. Perhaps she meant [Spirited Away](http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=377). Yes! That’s it! Dammit, when am I going to learn to look these things up? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343/32 "2010-02-17T23:44:12Z")
I thought it was brilliant, the way it operated on so many different levels. The acting was great, the effects were terrific, and it kept me on the edge of my seat. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343/33 "2010-02-17T23:48:28Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I thought it was brilliant, the way it operated on so many different levels. The acting was great, the effects were terrific, and it kept me on the edge of my seat. Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2010, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343/34 "2010-02-17T23:57:59Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I thought it was brilliant, the way it operated on so many different levels. The acting was great, the effects were terrific, and it kept me on the edge of my seat. Yes, it was absolutely horrific and magical. The end made me bawl my eyes out! ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343/35 "2010-02-18T00:40:32Z")
I liked it. I thought the fantasy bits looked utterly marvelous. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343/36 "2010-02-18T00:42:27Z")
> [@PookahMacPhellimey](#): > > In my interpretation there is a lesson and he uses turns the conventions of fairy tales on their head to deliver it. > > Fairy tale convention: “You are given a set of instructions and you have to follow them or Bad Things Will Happen”. > > Lesson of film: “Do not blindly follows orders without thinking for yourself or Fascism Will Happen”. Yes, exactly! This was a major theme in the movie; I really liked that aspect of it. It was probably my favorite movie of the year, although it was one of the very few movies that made me need a stiff drink after watching it. Now that I have a daughter of my own, I’m not sure I could stand to watch it again, so I’m glad I saw it when I did. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343/37 "2010-02-18T02:17:05Z")
Sorry, I much preferred _The Devil’s Backbone_ to _Pan’s Labyrinth_. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343/38 "2010-02-18T02:18:35Z")
I loved it. Unlike others, I fully “got it” that the fantasy part was “real”. I think too many viewers were seeing this film more realistic than it was, probably because of the Spanish Civil War background, which was real. I was completely happy imagining this was another world, and in that world, the fantasy was perfectly “real”, and thus the movie had a happy ending. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343/39 "2010-02-18T02:26:22Z")
I liked it. I also thought it was all in her head, like Total Recall. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343/40 "2010-02-18T02:37:23Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > I thought it was one of the two best movies I saw last year, and I loved pretty much everything about it. > > The other, for those that might be curious, was The Man from Earth. Neither was produced or released last year, but I tend to be years behind on such things. It ought to be a punishable offense to mention those two movies in the same post. Man from Earth was the most derivative snoozefest I’ve ever seen. Pan’s Labyrinth was on the other hand, brilliant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pans-labyrinth-did-i-watch-the-same-movie-everyone-else-did/529343.md?page=3)