[Repost] Some analysis of the plot, monsters, creative inspiration and metaphors of "Pan's Labyrinth"

Santos 2021-10-13 13:05:31

The scene of Colonel Vidal being cut by Mercedes is derived from a tradition called the chelsea smile. In the past, the British used a knife to cut the enemy’s mouth into two halves when dealing with traitors. Smile like, as a sign of punishment.
2. The name of the heroine Ofelia (Ophelia) is conceived from the character of the same name in Shakespeare's famous play "Hamlet" to imply the character's tragic fate.
3. When Ofelia and the colonel met for the first time, because holding a book in his right hand, he could only shake hands with the colonel with his left hand. The colonel severely criticized: It's the other hand, Ofelia. This scene is exactly the same as the scene in the second chapter of Dickens' novel "David Copperfield" when the protagonist first met his stepfather.
4. The creative concept of "Pan's Labyrinth" was deeply influenced by two fairy tale masters. One is the well-known Hans Christian Anderson. A wonderful imitation of "Little Match Girl") The other is Wilde (advocating art for the sake of art, his fairy tales are all interpretations of "heart breaking and death")
5. The movie has a guiding effect on the bizarre imagination of this movie There are two more books, <> And <> The former was created in the Victorian era and has a very detailed interpretation of the origins and creative concepts of fairy tales around the world.
6. Director Gilmore Del Toro seems to like to show the death of children very much. The scene of killing
7. The old tree where the toad inhabits, if you look closely, the shape is actually exactly the same as Pan Shen's head (including the halo)
8. The pale man and Pan Shen faun are actually the same person (the player is also the same person), pale Man can be said to be God Pan’s test of Ophelia. If you look closely, the two elves (red and blue) eaten by that monster came alive again at the end of the film~~~
9. pale man The hall of the feast of blood actually alludes to Colonel Vidal’s exaggeration. Carefully look at the feast scene of the two people. The composition of the picture is the same.
10. The murals in the hall of pale man are inspired by the Spanish painter Goya. Dark works<> (Pan God devours children), has anti-war meaning. It is worth mentioning that there are different sayings about Pan God. The word pan is more commonly used in English, but this pan refers to the more evil Pan God, while the Europeans The word faun is generally used to refer to the kinder Pan Shen.
11.According to the more popular archetypes (non-Jungian archetypes) in recent literary criticism and film and television reviews, this film also has several such archetypes: Philia-Chastity, Mother of Virgin Ophelia-Mother Mosidis-Mother, Wisdom Woman

Talk about Colonel:
In fact, Colonel Vidal is a more tragic character than the protagonist in the movie. He is in Spain under the Franco dictatorship had the noble status of an officer colonel. Perhaps he was born to serve the war. The only relic left by his father was a pocket watch, in order to let future generations remember his father's war. The time to die on the battlefield...I have accepted this kind of thoughtful vidal since I was a child, and hoped to change but was unable to change this situation. He said that he hoped that his child would be born in a bright and pure Spain. He once concealed the facts of his pocket watch in public. Explain that the colonel’s subconscious self-hatred, he was a victim of the times, he killed people under the instigation of doctrine and dictatorship, and wanted to resist, but he was unable to resist fate. Kierkegaard once said: "The tyrant is dead, and he rules too. It's over; the martyr is dead, and his reign has just begun." Compare the deaths of the Colonel and Ophelia: Although one died, the soul was redeemed and became eternal. The other only got the sentence "Your child connects you" before death. I don’t even know the name of "It's dead, nothing, ridiculously ending a brutal life. In contrast, the colonel is even more sad."


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Extended Reading

Pan's Labyrinth quotes

  • Mercedes: My mother told me to be wary of fauns.

  • Capitán Vidal: You could have obeyed me!

    Doctor: But Captain, to obey - just like that - for obedience's sake... without questioning... That's something only people like you do.