Stephen King, the king of horror, attended a screening of Pan’s Labyrinth next to director Guillermo del Toro. According to Del Toro, King squirmed when the Pale Man chased Ofelia. Del Toro compared that the experience was like winning an Oscar (Davis). Guillermo Del Toro’s 2006 fantasy film Pan’s Labyrinth follows Ofelia in 1944 Francoist Spain where she discovers the magical underworld of the Faun. The film is an allegorical story, whose ending can be interpreted in different ways. This essay analyzes the ending of Pan’s Labyrinth in terms of motif, theme, and dichotomy to create a supernatural and secluded setting. Furthermore, Del Toro uses Campbell’s archetypal journey of the heroine to tell us that Ofelia was in the real world. Pan’s
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The faun gives Ofelia three tasks, which each mirror the real-world problems around her. Her first task is to retrieve a key from the belly of a toad that lives in a dying tree. Her task alternates with scenes of Vidal and his troops giving food rations to people while they are enjoying a lavish feast. Just as the toad lives off the dying tree, the fascists control the resources while the people suffer. The rule of three could also reference the Christian doctrine of the Trinity - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Del Toro himself is a lapsed Catholic, and has used religious symbolism in his films. Spain has been historically Catholic. Franco portrayed himself as a staunch Catholic and the fascist regime used religion as a way of increasing its popularity. The mood in Pan’s Labyrinth is used to differentiate between the real world and the underworld. Cinematographer Guillermo Navarro used harsher, more muted light for scenes in the real world, while he used warm light for the scenes of the labyrinth. Another technique he used was motion. The shots in the real world depict stable and longer scenes, while those of the underworld are moving, panning, and tilting. Navarro does this to subtly indicate which state of reality is depicted on
The faun gives Ofelia three tasks, which each mirror the real-world problems around her. Her first task is to retrieve a key from the belly of a toad that lives in a dying tree. Her task alternates with scenes of Vidal and his troops giving food rations to people while they are enjoying a lavish feast. Just as the toad lives off the dying tree, the fascists control the resources while the people suffer. The rule of three could also reference the Christian doctrine of the Trinity - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Del Toro himself is a lapsed Catholic, and has used religious symbolism in his films. Spain has been historically Catholic. Franco portrayed himself as a staunch Catholic and the fascist regime used religion as a way of increasing its popularity. The mood in Pan’s Labyrinth is used to differentiate between the real world and the underworld. Cinematographer Guillermo Navarro used harsher, more muted light for scenes in the real world, while he used warm light for the scenes of the labyrinth. Another technique he used was motion. The shots in the real world depict stable and longer scenes, while those of the underworld are moving, panning, and tilting. Navarro does this to subtly indicate which state of reality is depicted on