Pans Labyrinth
Pan’s Labyrinth is a
Spanish film directed by Guillermo del Toro. The film takes place in 1944
during a Spanish Civil War. The main character Ofelia is a little girl who is
brought with her pregnant mother to a military base to stay with her stepfather
Captain Vidal who is a ruthless killer. After Ofelia’s arrival to the base she
encounters an insect fairy that leaders her to an ancient Labyrinth. Ofelia
creates her own world in the film to escape the harsh realities of the Spanish war.
Upon a later arrival at
the Labyrinth Ofelia encounters a mystical creature named Faun. Faun informs
Ofelia that she is a princess and her father is the King of the Underworld. In
order for Ofelia to reclaim her heir to the throne she had to complete three
task before the full moon to prove her worthiness of being princess. Meanwhile
Ofelia’s mother is growing very sick. Ofelia completed her first two task but
was banished by Faun for not following instructions.
Later in the film
Ofelia’s mother dies while giving birth to a baby boy. In the film women are
looked upon as inferior which is why the character Mercedes was able to use
this to her advantage. Mercedes is a servant of Captain Vidal who is secretly a
spy for Vidal’s war enemy. Throughout the movie she is stealing supplies from
Vidal’s base and giving them to his enemies so that they can have the
advantage. After the death of Ofelia’s mother Faun decides to give her one more
chance to prove her worthiness. For Ofelia’s third and final task she is
instructed to take her brother and bring him to the Labyrinth.
Faun tells Ofelia that
she has to kill her brother to be in the throne and she refuses. This hesitation
in judgment causes Ofelia to be shot and killed by Captain Vidal who is
ultimately killed by his rebellion. Ofelia awakes in the Underworld and is told
by Faun that preserving the life of her brother was her final test to become
princess. This film relates to the text when you talk about lighting.
Pans Labyrinth has a dark lighting which
represents a dark time. The light also sets the modd of what is going on in the
film Throughout the whole film the lighting was dark until Ofelia returned to
the Underworld Kingdom. A.O. Scott a journalist for the New York Times stats
that “Pan’s Labyrinth” is a swift and accessible entertainment, blunt in its
power and exquisite in its effects. A child could grasp its moral insights
(though it is not a film I’d recommend for most children), while all but the
most cynical of adults are likely to find themselves troubled to the point of
heartbreak by its dark, rich and emphatic emotions.”
CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM
*** (x) stands for criteria has been met
1) (x) I have
not handed in this assignment for any other class.
2) (x) If I
reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I
clearly explain that in the paper.
3) (x) If I
used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used
indentation and citation within the text.
4) (x) I have
not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography
in the text of the paper.
5) (x) I have
cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.
6) (x) I have
used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another
way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.
7) (x) I did
not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or
originality.
8) (x) I
checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the
research and ideas used in my paper.
Name: Brandon Strickland Date: 12/12/2012
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