Pan's Labyrinth Essay

The Tragic Fairy Tale
"Pan's Labyrinth" is directed by Guillermo del Toro, it was a magical realism drama. The screen shows the magical world of bizarre situations, an imaginary character Pluto's daughter "Ofelia" was roam to the underworld. The time of 1944 as the background and the fascist murdered the left-wing guerrilla fighters as a real-world story. The whole film was intertwined by myth and reality, It was a complete metaphor and reflection on the Spanish civil war. One side was the little girl’s innocent fairy tale, while the Nazis was inhuman torture and slaughter. Two living scenes intertwined in a film, this brought out a moral and human conflict. This innocent view was see through from the child’s eye, which was Ofelia’s

naive thought about the world. But what we see, it seems that it was another world filled with cruel.
First of all, that mantis-like elf made people feel uncomfortable, it was dirty and ugly. The labyrinth was made from a pile of stones, and the Pan also was cunning, everything is not like what we can find in the real fairy tale. When the reality is cruel, that the fairy tale would not truly exist which it will become a cruel fairy tale. This can be connect to Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings", the angel was not a real angel in people’s mind. It was a magic masterpiece. Both of this two literary pieces included a fantasy element, they was criticizing about real-world social and political problems. And they was connected to the harsh realities of the Latin America’s society. Also there was blending of symbolic techniques in both stories. Such as, in the "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings", the giant wings of the elderly symbolized the traditional culture of Latin America; Pelayo and Elisenda were the symbols of the middle class within Latin American society; Gonzaga priest was representative of the Latin American political and religious dominance. In the film “Pan’s Labyrinth” , the lazy toad swallowed the three jewels that symbolized "democracy", "freedom" and "equality." And Ofelia's stepfather, fascists general Vidal symbolized the right-wing General Francisco Franco. Ophelia found a key from the toad, the key was a symbol of open the future of Spain.
Likewise, in the "Pan’s Labyrinth," the director emphasized at least three times Ofelia's "leftist" position.

At the beginning of the film, Ofelia and her mother drove to the captain's camp. When she picked up the remaining piece of the status on their way, she putted it into the head of the statute. We note that she putted on the left side of the eye. From then on, the little girl will be able to see the elf that the human world can not see. It seems that Ofelia found from the left-wing perspective. Then, she began to "see the world using left eye." Moreover, when they arrived at the camp, Ofelia met the captain for the first time. In the scene that they shaked hand was interesting. Ofelia holded a several fairy tale books in her right hand, trembling stretched out her left hand. As the captain of the fascist officer, he stretched out his right hand, grabbed her left hand, coldly said: "it's the other hand, Ofelia." A left-wing meet with the right-wing, break up in discord. A few minutes later, in the labyrinth Ofelia solemnly said to Mercedes: Captain is not my father. Firm severed any legal dictatorship with the right-wing. Ofelia went to the pale man's underground palace to perform the Pan's second task. There was three wickets on the wall. In accordance with the instructions of several elves, she should open the middle door. Ofelia hesitated and opened the door to the left, and took out a shining dagger. Elf pointed out the middle road, Ofelia once again adhered to her left-wing

position.
In conclusion, "Pan's Labyrinth" was a fairytale for adults. Like all the fairy tale will have a happy ending. "Pan's Labyrinth" is no exception, but this layer of happiness was immersed in the bitter and depressed in deep. Too much blood and tears, too much darkness. Ofelia finally found her parents, returned to the eternal sweet home, but not one can really happy together. A fairy tale is a hope and a dream. It is a comfort and the ideal world. "Pan's Labyrinth" is such a fairy tale, Ofelia through the murky darkness of the labyrinth find her happiness, just as the Spanish who experienced the brutal history. Guillermo applied a metaphor at the end. The end of the tragedy is the film's superficial cover, in essence, it is the protagonist Ofelia's comedy ending.