Many popular movie writers use real world problems to enhance their movies and create a more powerful message for the viewer. In the fantasy movie Pan’s Labyrinth, Guillermo Del Toro intertwines fantasy and reality in a very interesting way with colors, myths, and through a young girl named Ofelia to expose the harshness of war and political oppression. This movie left a powerful impact on me personally and I would expect many other viewers to have been impacted the same way. Del Toro’s goal when making this film was to impact the viewer by using powerful messages. One of the most powerful messages shown during the whole film is that the real world is a cruel, scary place for anyone. Del Toro uses the character Ofelia to show this message.
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There are three groups of people in this movie that help do this. The fascists, Captain Vidal and his 2 sergeants, are the main people who show the cruelty of life. Captain Vidal cared for nothing but himself, he had little or no compassion for anyone and was only depicted as evil. Vidal makes Ofelia’s life a living hell, she was put into this situation and there was nothing she could do about it. That drove Ofelia deeper into the fantasy world to escape the harshness of her reality. Secondly, the rebels, they were the people who the fascists were trying to stop. The rebels had two people working on for Vidal, the doctor and Mercedes. They provide the rebels supplies like food and medicine. The doctor and Mercedes show the harshness of the world because they struggle to help their people by working for someone they despise. Lastly, Carmen, Ofelia’s mother, helps show how cruel the world is. While the mother is giving birth to Vidal’s baby she dies. This event totally destroyed Ofelia and drove her even deeper into believing the fantasy world was real. There are two characters from the fantasy world who show off the good things in life. The faun is a father figure to Ofelia, he helps guide her through her rite of passage. Three fairies also help Ofelia while she is doing her tasks until she is able to open the portal. These characters impact the viewer's greatly. Real or imagined, Vidal and his people are symbols of Fascism and oppression. Ofelia and the rebels exist to disobey, to show the viewers that they can’t be bossed around all the time. When Vidal figures out that the Doctor has betrayed him, he is confused, angry, and annoyed. He is not capable of understanding why the doctor would do that. The doctor knows who Vidal is and he knows there will be consequences for his actions but, he peacefully responds, “But Captain, to obey, just like that, for obedience’s sake, without questioning,
There are three groups of people in this movie that help do this. The fascists, Captain Vidal and his 2 sergeants, are the main people who show the cruelty of life. Captain Vidal cared for nothing but himself, he had little or no compassion for anyone and was only depicted as evil. Vidal makes Ofelia’s life a living hell, she was put into this situation and there was nothing she could do about it. That drove Ofelia deeper into the fantasy world to escape the harshness of her reality. Secondly, the rebels, they were the people who the fascists were trying to stop. The rebels had two people working on for Vidal, the doctor and Mercedes. They provide the rebels supplies like food and medicine. The doctor and Mercedes show the harshness of the world because they struggle to help their people by working for someone they despise. Lastly, Carmen, Ofelia’s mother, helps show how cruel the world is. While the mother is giving birth to Vidal’s baby she dies. This event totally destroyed Ofelia and drove her even deeper into believing the fantasy world was real. There are two characters from the fantasy world who show off the good things in life. The faun is a father figure to Ofelia, he helps guide her through her rite of passage. Three fairies also help Ofelia while she is doing her tasks until she is able to open the portal. These characters impact the viewer's greatly. Real or imagined, Vidal and his people are symbols of Fascism and oppression. Ofelia and the rebels exist to disobey, to show the viewers that they can’t be bossed around all the time. When Vidal figures out that the Doctor has betrayed him, he is confused, angry, and annoyed. He is not capable of understanding why the doctor would do that. The doctor knows who Vidal is and he knows there will be consequences for his actions but, he peacefully responds, “But Captain, to obey, just like that, for obedience’s sake, without questioning,