Pan's Labyrinth, the winner of three Academy Awards including Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Makeup, is set in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. In 1944, widowed Carmen moves with her young daughter Ofelia into the house of her new husband, a cruel fascist captain named Vidal. Finding her new life hard to bear, Ofelia seeks refuge in a mysterious labyrinth and encounters Pan (a faun), the half-man, half-goat creature of mythology, who tells her she is actually a long-lost princess of a magical kingdom beneath the earth. However, in order to make her way back and be reunited with her true family, she must accomplish three tasks… Guillermo del Toro, Director of Pan's Labyrinth, says, "I've always preferred genres to be mixed. For me, Pan's Labyrinth is therefore a drama rooted in a context of war, with mythological elements grafted on." Hardly can we find a political drama in the guise of a fairy tale. It is simply an original and subtle mixture of fantasy, horror, history and drama. The main themes of the movie are as follows.
1. Cruel reality VS Magical world
The real world is much scarier than the underground fairy kingdom. The real "monster" in the film is Captain Vidal, who cold-bloodedly murders two innocent peasants. Comparatively speaking, Pan (the only Ancient Greek god who have tasted death and is able to "panic" others), the Pale Man (whose eyes are on its hands), the giant toad (symbolizing lust) and eerie fairies are less fierce.
2. Dictatorship VS Free will
Fascism is an authoritarian regime favoring complete obedience to authority, while republicans are in pursuit of freedom. Meanwhile, Ofelia exercises her free will and makes several decisions on her own in the movie.
Capitán Vidal: You could have obeyed me!
Doctor: [his last words] But captain, to obey - just like that - for obedience's sake... without questioning… That's something only people like you do.
3. Reality VS Imagination
The brilliant ending is like an ink-blot test. Whether the ending is a tragedy or not depends on your own interpretation. Audiences are advised to pay attention to the magic chalk, the mandrake root, the narrator, the story books, Ofelia's reaction while meeting Pan, the moving walls in the labyrinth, the fairies transforming themselves from praying mantises, etc. A detailed discussion can be found in the following website. Indeed, the director believes the fairies in the movie are real, but he also agrees with those believing those monsters are just imagined by the desperate girl who is eager to escape from the traumatizing reality. Two interpretations also make sense, which makes the ending an unforgettable one.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/showthread.php?t=525571
http://www.twitchfilm.net/archives/008507.html (Director's words)
As there are some violent scenes in the movie, parents are advised not to see the movie with their children and they should bear in mind that it is much different from Harry Potter. As an adult dreamer, I was fascinated by the two-edged ending, symbolic images, astonishing visuals and mesmerizing music. The lullaby hummed throughout the film adds melancholy to this darkly disturbing, but deeply affecting mixture of different genres. I give this movie 4 stars out of 5.
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Although The Lives of Others won Best Foreign Film at the 79th Academy Awards, I personally prefer Pan's Labyrinth to The Lives of Others. I do agree The Lives of Others is beautifully shot and original. However, the change in the secret police is not convincing. HGW used to be very loyal to his country. However, why does he suddenly feel pity for the writer and his wife? Some movie lovers also claim that "對主角突然這麼有人性的描寫不足" & "主角由左變右心理掙扎唔算多". Apart from this, it is unlikely for the writer to find HGW XX/7 in the end. The ending sounds unbelievable. What do you guys think? Which movie do you prefer?
魔間迷宮
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pans_labyrinth
95.3% of the reviews are positive - 162 positive reviews VS 8 negative reviews
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457430/
IMBD user rating: 8.5 out of 10 (33836 votes)
竊聽者
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_lives_of_others
93% of the reviews are positive - 104 positive reviews VS 6 negative reviews
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405094/
IMBD user rating: 8.5 out of 10 (7387 votes)
