The story takes place during the Spanish Civil War. Carlos, a war orphan, was sent to an orphanage in an unknown wasteland. In the orphanage, there is Carmen, a one-legged and severe female headmaster who supports the revolution, a gentleman and old professor Casares who silently loves her, a young man Jacinto who grew up in the orphanage and has misbehavior, and a group of war orphans with the same fate.
What makes this story interesting is the ghost boy who appeared from the beginning. The child who died in the orphanage had red blood from the wound on his head, because he finally sank to the bottom of the pond. The image of the ghost was always shrouded in a mist of faint golden light, and the red blood changed in the light and shadow. A patch of misty red clouds, constantly emerging from the wound, drifting upward, light as smoke, red like camellia. To match with such a weird and gorgeous image of the devil boy, there is also a huge bomb half-covered in the orphanage, which is just so inexplicably poked on the open ground. The children whispered that the bomb is alive, the ghost boy. It's hidden inside.
In contrast to the incredible scenes and images, the development of the storyline also has twists and turns. Under the surface absurdity, everything is organized and supported. The old professor reads beautiful verses to the headmistress with broken leg across the wall. Jacinto's greedy eyes can't do without the gold bars in the safe. The protagonist Carlos is curious and afraid of the ghost boy. He chased the wet footprints and found one after another in the orphanage. A secret... is
also a lonely child, unable to grasp the innocence, precociousness, insecurity, reality and illusion are intertwined with each other under the background of war and disputes. Which is true? Which are hallucinations and which are the other worlds? "Ghost Kid" and "Pan's Labyrinth" are surprisingly similar in overall technique and emotional communication. It can even be said that "Ghost Kid" is the prelude to "Pan", and Guillermo del Toro has been at least since "Ghost Kid". This same story was brewed until all the talents in "Pan God" were blooming, and an ultimate dream world was created through perfect narrative skills.
In "Ghost Child", the distinction between the real world represented by humans and the imaginary world represented by ghosts is very obvious. What is intertwined is the good and evil of human nature, or the allegory of human and ghost. In "Pan God", the boundary between reality and virtual world is completely blurred, and there has never been a clear boundary. Every clue has loopholes and needs to be explained by the logic of another world. As the clue and the central character, the little girl shuttles back and forth between the two edges of the world. If the loophole in the clue is lost, the two boundaries will become separated, and her wandering will lose its original meaning. In this sense, looking at the logic system of each world in "Pan Shen" alone, loopholes are a pity; but if mistakes are used to connect the correct ones, and loopholes are used to break clarity and create ambiguity, such a narrative technique becomes a kind of narrative. This great breakthrough is of groundbreaking significance.
In the cruel comparison between innocence and reality, "Ghost Boy" takes a comparison between humans and ghosts, and a comparison between a child and a sinister character, in a straightforward and simple manner. The development of "Pan God" is still a comparison between the child and the adult world, but the adult world has a broader perspective, and the layers of the characters are more obvious. Evil is not pure evil, and good is not pure good. The overall story is extremely rich.
In the use of screen colors and lens, "Pan Shen" is more sharp and sharp than "Ghost Boy". If the picture feeling in "Ghost Child" is for storytelling, in "Pan God", even if the story is stripped off, the visual effect is an independent entity, whether it is a frog in a tree hole or a one-eyed monster. The golden and red palaces are full of charming power. In the dream world of Guillermo del Toro, the contrast implemented by all means, like oxygen, is the essence of the common breathing of characters, plots, language, pictures, colors, composition and so on.
"Ghost Child" is compared with "Pan Shen". Although the mature trajectory of Guillermo del Toro's narrative and shooting techniques can be clearly seen, "Ghost Child" still has its unique artistic charm. Fully reflects the Spanish architectural style, perfect composition, child actors’ innocent and appropriate performances, simple and touching emotional details, nostalgic dazzling colors-these elements outline such a beautiful small world, exquisite and moving .
The first sentence of the movie's opening said: "What is a ghost? A tragedy that is destined to be repeated? A painful moment, perhaps, even though death is still alive. An emotion frozen in time, like a faded photo, like Amber Linna Only flying insects." Such a poetic and intense sadness was shown by the genius of Guillermo del Toro, from the interweaving of blood and water before the beginning of the story, the fall of color mist, to the final oblivion in the background music. The yellow earth and those little figures, although the same contrast, also strips the cruelty out of innocence, but "Pan Shen" is rock and roll, with strong notes and rich colors; while "Ghost Boy" is blues and blues. Sadness is wind and poetry.
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