EN final Essay on Pan's Labyrinth and Postmodernism

Film and Postmodernism

In this essay, I will be discussing  Guillermo del Toro’s 2006 film, El laberinto del fauno, also known as ‘The Labyrinth of the Faun’ or, more commonly, ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’. The film follows a female protagonist, Ofelia, and is set in 1944 Francoist Spain, as she travels with her pregnant mother to the army camp of her stepfather. Her stepfather, Captain Vidal, is the film’s primary antagonist and is portrayed as an unrelenting commander of the fascist army, trying to snuff out the remaining Spanish rebels on the outskirts of France. Ofelia enters a forest and sees a faun, who informs her that she is the long-lost princess of the underworld, and that she must complete 3 tasks by the end of the full moon so that she can return to the kingdom. Ofelia, who loves fairytales, embarks on this journey, and this narrative is intertwined with the army situation, in which the housekeeper (Mercedes) and the resident physician (Dr Ferreiro) hide their anti-Francoist sentiments by working under Captain Vidal whilst sneaking supplies to the rebels in the forest. Ultimately, Ofelia is asked to make a choice between giving her baby brother to Captain Vidal, or to use his blood in a ritual to send her back to the underworld. Instead, she is killed and in the end, is shown to return to the kingdom of the underworld. Pan’s Labyrinth is a film with many postmodernist elements, and which breaks down conventional ideas of good and evil, as well as emphasizing the complicated and non-straightforward journey in attaining ‘victory’ of one over the other. I will be attempting to justify this claim by first discussing the postmodernist elements of the film, and the effects created by them. Using the pale man sequence from the film, these effects will be contextualised and the themes of innocence versus authority and obedience will be analysed. Following this, I will explore the idea of the choices and sacrifices made, particularly in major conflicts, as well as the assumptions which this film calls into question through its subversion of them through postmodernist elements.

Visually, del Toro capitalises on the audience’s visual senses by mesmerizing them with stunning visuals through Computer Generated Imaging (eg. The detailed textures of all the magical creatures), Costuming (largely through Ofelia’s costume) and the setting (creating the visual embodiment of an archetypal ‘enchanted forest’), therefore being reminiscent of fairytales and fantasy elements. Additionally, Poulsen (2013) describes the mise-en-scene to be ‘surreal’ due to the ‘color tonality range’. The  fantasy scenes use yellow lighting and warm colours, contrasting the cold steely blues of the army barracks and uniforms. The forest serves as a middleground between the two (comparing its portrayal at the start vs. end). The film does not particularly fit into a single genre, having elements of Dark Fantasy, War and Violence incorporated beautifully into a single overarching narrative. Besides the subversion of conventional genre classifications, another postmodern characteristic are some of the refences woven into film. Visually, they reference: Alice in Wonderland (1951) in Ofelia’s blue dress and white apron; The Chronicles of Narnia (2005) in Ofelia’s nightgown and jacket when first meeting the faun; the myth of Hades and Persephone in the pale man scene; the Wizard of Oz (1939), and even The Red Shoes (1948) in the ending scene.

 

   

The sheer amount of intertexuality del Toro utilizes highlights the magic and wonder with which Ofelia sees the world. This can be seen from the editing, where eye-line shots of Ofelia are interwoven with shots showing her point of view, thereby aligning the viewer with Ofelia’s view of the world. However, the film subverts the conventions of a fairytale by incorporating many dark elements into it, such as graphic violence and brutality exacted by Captain Vidal, as well as the gruesome imagery of the giant toad and the pale man’s consumption of one of the fairies. Del Toro follows yet another postmodern convention in the disorientation of the viewer’s sense of time and space by cross-cutting between the fantasy world and the real world in is his use of ‘trees or walls to hide wipe cuts that make it feel like fantasy and reality are connected’ (Aranda, 2018). The combination of aligning the audience’s view with Ofelia’s and weaving the two worlds together so seamlessly makes it difficult for the viewer to ascertain whether the fantasy world exists, or is merely a figment of Ofelia’s imagination. To the audience, the ‘level of trust for the characters is so low and in a film that based on choice, it’s even difficult to trust the choices that they make’ (Grimshaw, 2014). Puschak (2015) reinforces that ‘neither of these narratives becomes reducible to the other’. This deliberate subversion of the conventions of any one genre of film makes the audience question what they are perceiving, thus introducing the idea that the choices one needs to make are not always straightforward.

Using film’s pale man sequence as an example, there is an obvious parallel between the characters of Vidal and the pale man, as shown by the mirroring of their placement in similar settings (a long table with an array of food). Furthermore, Ofelia is the embodiment of youth and innocence ( show by her blood being that of ‘an innocent’ needed to unlock the portal to the underworld; whilst Vidal seems to be the embodiment of blind authority and age. One can see his view of Carmen as merely a vessel to attaining a son (the manifestation of his continuity beyond death), and his  obsession with time shown by his personal quarters covered with gears resembling the inside of a clocktower, and the pocketwatch which carries the exact time his father died. The pocketwatch draws links between Captain Vidal and Peter Pan’s captain hook. Del Toro’s creation of this Lovecraftian monster has wrinkled and drooping skin, reminiscent of how old age changes the body, hence both antagonists can be suggested to be embodiments of Ofelia’s fear of ageing and therefore losing her innocence. Visually, a pile of shoes is reminiscent of the holocaust, evoking an eerie atmosphere filled with anticipation. The heightened attention to soundscape (emphasized through the lack of dialogue) creates a sense of dread in the viewer through the non-diegetic violins playing in minor key, coming to a climax when the pale man is awoken and the tempo and volume drastically increases. The camera focuses on the pale man is he devours the fairies, forcing the audience to simultaneously take in the beauty of the set (shown by the spread of food on the table, and the ornate drawings of the pale man lit by a fire in the heart) and the brutality of the blood as well as the pale man’s hideousness and high-pitched wails. Ofelia’s choice to eat the food also has dire consequences, reflecting that although she attained the key eventually, the process by which she did so was not easy, smooth or without sacrifice.

Linking this narrative to the larger plot of the film, we see del Toro opening the movie with the ending of the film, thereby subverting yet another narrative convention by presenting the story in a non-linear order. By doing this, he prepares the audience for the film’s end and makes no secret of the fact that the main character dies, influencing the audience to suspect that this film might end in tragedy. Although in the actual ending, Ofelia is successful in returning to the underworld, in the human realm, she lays dying at the top of the labyrinth. The use of an ambiguous ending here complicates the notion that war ends with absolute victory in a triumph of good versus evil. The film’s use of the postmodern therefore complicates notions of what it means to do the ‘right’ things, in line with the postmodern sentiment of the lack of an absolute truth. At the same time, it is made clear that Captain Vidal is the primary antagonist and Ofelia is the protagonist, hence the conventions of a narrative have not completely been subverted either.

Captain Vidal cannot be said to be a one-dimensional character, despite his brutality and strictness, due to the fact that his motivations seem to stem from wanting to leave a legacy behind for his son, just as his father did for him. Although he pressures everyone in the camp to follow his orders, including his own wife Carmen, being a military man also implies that he himself is merely carrying out and following orders given to him from his leaders. To be in his position would be to sacrifice free will, and choice, manifested in a quote from Dr. Ferreiro, ‘But Captain, to obey, just like that, for obedience's sake... without questioning... That's something only people like you do.’ Although the faun seems to be on Ofelia’s side, it must be noted that he too, demands blind obedience from Ofelia until the end, when he demands her baby brother. It is suggested that Ofelia’s and Mercedes’ willingness to follow their values, rather than submit to the pressure of authority, is what allows them both to survive (in some sense), which is in line with the narrative convention of ‘good triumphing over evil’. However, going back to del Toro’s editing, the beginning scene of Ofelia’s death hints at the fact that there is more than meets the eye. Whilst in the film, the ‘good guys’ seem to win, this victory is not without loss or sacrifice. Paralleling aforementioned the death of the fairies in the pale man scene, many ‘innocents’ are lost to the context of the Spanish war as well, including Dr Ferreiro himself, the old man and his son who are suspected for being rebels, Carmen, and the rebels who are ambushed by the soldiers.

Del Toro has mentioned before, that ‘You only find yourself when you disobey. Disobedience is the beginning of responsibility, I think.’Pan’s labyrinth’s narrative complexity, intertextuality and genre subversion all align with the idea of disobedience. It is Ofelia’s ultimate choice to disobey both the faun and Vidal which allows her agency over her own life. Similarly, whilst we might place emphasis on the victors and losers of any conflict, it is important to remember the sacrifices made, as well as the arduous journey one must take in order to reach this point. As an Auteur, Del Torro’s oeuvre is filled with films which explore these exact themes of the disillusion of simplicity one feels when growing up, as well as the loss of innocence which time brings, especially in his first film Cronos, and The Devil’s Backbone, in which he similarly combines the background of the Spanish War with supernatural/fantastical elements. It is possible to argue that by depicting violence in such graphic detail (almost making it a spectacle to be admired from a detatched point of view), del Toro is glamourising violence. However, I would argue that he discourages just that by juxtaposing bloody scenes with those of beauty in Pan’s Labyrinth, therefore highlighting the pain and senseless brutality brought about by those who subscribe to absolutist ideas of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ (eg. Captain Vidal). Ultimately, del Toro uses this film to undermine and question the assumption that any character/force is ever determinately good or bad, as it is this very assumption (that one opinion is more ‘correct’ than another, which leads to conflict and war. The core of this is manifested in del Toro’s opinion on war, ‘War gives no honor [or] victory. There are no winners, only losers. There’s only live victims and death victims’.

Word Count: 1925 Words

Bibliography

CrashCourse. “Pan's Labyrinth: Crash Course Film Criticism #9” Youtube, commentary by Michael Aranda, 15 Mar. 2018, youtu.be/NqDLB3JWfds

Nerwriter1. “Pan's Labyrinth: Disobedient Fairy Tale” Youtube, commentary by Evan Puschak, 7 Oct. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbZNkMn3PvQ

Pan’s Labyrinth. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, Picturehouse and Warner Bros., 11 Oct. 2006.

White, Lori. “The Newest Fad in People Helping People: Little Free Pantries.” Upworthy, Cloud Tiger Media, 3 Aug. 2016,
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Grimshaw, L. (2014). A Look at the Post Modern: “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006). Retrieved from: http://cinekatz.com/2014/07/21/a-look-at-the-post-modern-pans-labyrinth-2006/

Poulsen, M.O. (2013). Narrative and Stylistic Analysis of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth. Retrieved from: https://projekter.aau.dk/projekter/files/75669985/Pan_s_Labyrinth.docx