IS IT EVIL?! Pan's Labyrinth Movie Reaction!!
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
- My first time watching Pan's Labyrinth (2006).
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What a dark tale. The stuff of fantasies and nightmares. This is a special film and Ofelia is 100% a princess. I hope you enjoyed my MPan's Labyrinthmovie reaction & commentary
Hi, I'm Chris! Welcome to my channel. I react to movies & tv shows hoping to represent what it's really like to experience them for the first time. If you enjoy, you can support me by liking the video, subscribing to the channel, and letting me know your thoughts in the comments.
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Original Movie: Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
I think it was the mind of an innocent child having to shield itself from the unspeakable traumas of war and violence, which makes this a very sad and tragic story.
That’s how I’ve always interpreted this film as well
It made no difference to Ofelia whether it was happening between her ears or not. I've been in deep physical shock. The detachment is real.
To quote my brother:
She's a god damn fairy princess. I don't care what you say. 😂
Coming back after finishing your video:
Mother married the captain because she needed security. She tells Ofelia that she couldn't support her after her father died.
The captain is the real monster - and you should read up on the Spanish civil war that is the setting of this movie. The captain is a product of a cycle of violence, and he married Ofelia's mother to get a son.
Against this backdrop of misery, I have always interpreted the story as a fairy tail into which Ofelia escapes. In that fairy tail, she is tasked with facing dangers that represent what she sees in the 'real' world. She's desperate for love and security, it's heartbreaking. The ending is so sad, and I cried so much when I saw this in the theater.
I remember hearing audible sobs in the theater. It is such a heartbreaking story.
This movie is a perfect 10/10 for me. It's one of the most elegant adult fairy tales out there and it allows you to decide whether you want to believe the magic is real or not.
Personally I think the magic is real. I can't see how else Ofelia escapes from the room she's locked in if it's not with her magic chalk.
Winner of 3 Oscars:
Best Cinematography
Best Production Design
Best Makeup.
Very well deserved awards. Despite this being a dark, scary story, it's a visually beautiful one, and one of the reasons I've watched it so many times.
Not this version
Just because someone looks evil,doesn't mean that person is evil. Often the most beautiful of face, can be the most vile of heart.
Exactly, well said
The practical effects in this movie are amazing. The Pale Man and The Faun, that's (almost entirely) prosthetics and makeup. Like, that's not cg. And they're played by the same man too!
The backdrop of the movie is set just after the Spanish Civil war
The fantastic Doug Jones! *** He's best known as Billy Butcherson (zombie dude) in Hocus Pocus & Hocus Pocus 2 - also as Abe Sapien (water dude) in the original Hellboy and Hellboy 2 - also as Amphibian Man in The Shape of Water -and he played one of The Gentleman in the episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer called Hush (season 4 episode 10). He has a LOT more credits in his resume, but I think I got the highlights.
@@Kayjee17 Yeah. he was also The Silver Surfer (well the body for him) in The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. The man really likes playing characters that are under a lot of makeup and prosthetics.
What I love about this story is that it gives us exactly *2* bits of evidence that either confirm or deny that the magic is real - but they contradict one another, leaving you to decide for yourself:
1. When Ofelia is escaping through the maze at the end, a dead end opens up and lets her through - and the Captain comes around the same corner and finds that same dead end, with no sign of Ofelia. This suggests the magic is real. (But maybe it's just because the Captain has been drugged, and is disoriented!)
2. When the Captain catches up to Ofelia, he does not see the Faun standing there with her. This suggests that it's all in her imagination/delusion. (But maybe it's just the kind of magic that only children / the pure of heart / true believers can see!)
Just like Ofelia, we have to decide whether or not we believe in the magic, despite the possibility that it's not real. :)
there’s also the fact that Ofelia managed to escape from a locked room when making her final escape by using the magic chalk. no explanation for that i can see tbh! it’s one of the things i like about this movie: although there’s evidence either way, i think magic is the “correct” opinion. the chalk, the mandrake, the bloody uterus appearing in the book right beforehand. there’s enough there to conclude it was real, at least to a degree.
@@junipetta1595 you could also argue that it seems more than just a coincidence that her Mum starts feeling better almost as soon as Ofelia uses the Mandrake, then immediately takes a turn for the worse when she chucks the Mandrake into the fire.
@@TheMarcHicks indeed. although i think it’s also worth adding that even though it seems magic is real, we never find out if the faun was tricking her or not - her final moments are more explicitly framed as a dying vision rather than magic. maybe the magic was real, but she wasn’t really the princess or anything - hence the shoes in the pale man’s domain
I've chosen -
When movie endings are vague, I always choose the happiest ending.
Would you do whatever it took to be a real princess in Spain during the time of Fascism? Would you want to be a Fascist princess? Can you make it through Pan's Labyrinth? In children's stories they always mess up. Some come to good ends regardless of all their mistakes and some come to bad ends because of their mistakes, but all children make mistakes.
@@ReligionOfSacrifice But she wasn't the princess of our world, she was the princess in the underworld.
The faun is the step-father wanting the son. She chooses the son and goes to the place of paradise in the usual way, which is death. But if you value the son that is the key. She could have been a princess on this Earth, but the god of this Earth is Allah and thus not a win. Choose Yahweh and live forever. It may be more real than this world which passes away. Heaven and Earth shall come to pass away.
My Words shall come to pass.
@@ReligionOfSacrifice "Allah" is just how you say "God" in the Arabic language. Jews and Christians, who speak Arabic, refer to God as "Allah" in the same way people who speak English say "God", the people who speak French say Dieu (mon dieu = my god), the people who speak Greek say Theos, the people who speak German say Gott, the people who speak Spanish say Dios, etc....
@@sydhamelin1265 , correct, I said, would you want to be a princess in a Fascist world? That was what the step-father was offering. The faun wanted blind obedience, like the Nazi. The faun wanted the son, but was unworthy. The underworld is death. Jesus is the son and if you cling to Him, then in the next life you are the princess in heaven. She became the princess in heaven.
I absolutely love Del Toro’s work, but this movie is his masterpiece in my opinion. It’s a fairytale for adults and it’s absolutely wonderful.
My favorite Del Toro is Hellboy 2, but I haven't seen anything that he's done that I don't like/love. He's got that OG Brothers Grimm vibe where he creates fairy tale stories but they're NOT Disney - these are the ones where Cinderella's stepsisters cut off their toes/heels in vain to fit in the glass slipper and Snow White's prince makes the evil queen dance at their wedding in red hot iron shoes until she dies kind of fairy tales, and I love it!
"You could have obeyed me!"
"But Captain, to obey - just like that - for obedience's sake... without questioning... That's something only people like you do."
Fun Fact: The fifth highest grossing foreign language film in the US.
Lost In Translation Fact: Guillermo Del Toro wrote the English subtitles himself. He no longer trusts translators after problems with previous subtitled movies.
Mythology Fact: In classical mythology, Pan (Doug Jones) was a god associated with the wilderness and natural world. He was commonly depicted having goat legs and horns. The Pale Man's (Doug Jones) eyes on his hands is a feature shared by the Japanese mythological monster the Tenome.
Voice Play Fact: Although Doug Jones, the only American actor in the movie, plays El Fauno and The Pale Man, he doesn't voice either character. Doug Jones spent his 5 hours in the makeup chair practicing Spanish to play the role. In the end, Del Toro hired Pablo Adán, a theatrical actor, to voice El Fauno. Jones's efforts were not in vain though, as it made Adán's job of synchronising with his lips and Ivana Baquero's job of interacting with the character easier.
The Rest Of The Story Fact: Guillermo Del Toro is famous for compiling books full of notes and drawings about his ideas before turning them into films, something he regards as essential to the process. He left years worth of notes for this film in the back of a cab, and when he discovered them missing, he thought it was the end of the project. However, the cab driver found them and, realizing their importance, tracked him down and returned them at great personal difficulty and expense. Del Toro was convinced that this was a blessing and it made him ever more determined to complete the film.
Later on when Pan offers her a second chance he asks her will she do everything he tells her to do... without question.
Love this movie! Great reaction. I agree with your conclusion. As I love fantasy, I will always side towards the magical.
And fairy tales are a way for children to learn and cope with the harshness of the real world.
I think at the end the underworld turned bright because the Princess is back
The facecut was an actual prosthetic they put an the actors face, that was green on the bottom so they could cgi it later. However the actor did sew the prosthetic together and had to be careful, since it was just a thin layer.
I liked how you picked up on a major theme that often comes up in guillermo del toro's work: Good people like Ofelia, Mercedes and the doctor disobey orders, are insecure of what they believe and hope that what they do will be enough, while it is the cowardly people and the evil people who "just follow orders", are very sure of their goals and don't ever doubt.
But to answer the question of if it really happened? I think so. but Ofelia also really died and the people who are left behind will mourn her death. It's both a happy ending and a sad ending.
The nature of the ending, imagination or reality, is vague on purpose, of course. However, Guillermo del Toro has said that there are three clues to reveal his own preferred interpretation: the blossom on the fig tree, Ofelia having to use the magic chalk to make her escape, and the labyrinth opening up for her.
I feel the Mandrake is a clue as well.
The main bad guy is actually a Spanish comedian..... such a great performance!
I heard that. I also heard he is a nice guy and not a jerk. Id love to see him in comedy then
@@brialapoint2608 agreed!
You left the whole "wine bottle to the face scene" out of your review. Good Call. I once had the honor of performing as a Fairy Creature in the lobby at one of Atlanta's most amazing theaters when they showed Pan's Labyrinth during their summer film festival. One of the things I noticed is that WHOLE FAMILIES were coming in to see the movie, because the parents assumed it was a kid's movie, and totally missed that it was rated R. As soon as the lights went down and the movie started, you could hear a multitude of groans as people realized that the movie was subtitled, but this soon turned to gasps as they were transfixed by the film's beauty. Of course, when the "wine bottle to the face scene" occurred, it was basically the movie saying, "Hey there, this is an R rated movie! Maye you shouldn't have brought all your kids here to see it! Maybe if you leave now, the theater MIGHT give you a refund, which you can use to help with your children's therapy bills!"
I think that scene was the last thing I cut after dealing with 3 or 4 rounds of manual copyright claims. 😅 CRAZY that parents took their kids. Oops.
Yeah, not sure I could have stood seeing that scene again.
As described in the Tibetan Book of the Dead, if you buy into the story completely, you're home free and it's a happy ending. If you doubt or hesitate, you're lost and it's sad.
the mother is the old spain the kingdom, she was weak and died, the colonol is obviously the fascist spain that died too ophelia represents the innocent republican spain that was dreaming of a different world she died too but safed her brother which is the actual spain we know today
It's for us to decide if it was real, I like to think it was a parallel reality happening in another dimension. I think you would like The Devil's backbone, also from Del Toro, it's a beautiful movie, sad, but immensely beautiful
This story is amazing b/c it's both fairytale but also a direct allegory to the fascist regime during the time when Francisco Franco caused a ton of harm. The most basic, important allegories are where the step father represents Franco.. the director of the Fascist regime. Ofelia represents the Spanish nation and the martyrs who fought and died for the republican cause (Mercedes and Co.) and lastly, with both the step father and Ofelia passing on.. Ofelia's brother becomes the new representation of New Spain. The new Spain after the war, emerging as a child/or saviour of the nation.
There's a ton of irl allegories between down to each mythological trial/monster as well. for instance the second Trial with the "hand/eye" monster and forbidding Ofelia to eat is supposed to a parallel to a time around 1939-1944 there were an estimated 200,000 deaths directly or indirectly from starvation. It's a bittersweet story showing the incredible mind Guillermo Del Toro has in these movies.
And btw, Underworld doesn't necessarily equate to hell in these stories.. just a world after life.
Lastly, as for what is real.. I understand the allegories, and appreciate them.. but i like to believe Ofelia is a Princess who finally got her wish and returned back to her Kingdom. ❤ I hope you enjoyed it as much as many of us have.. There's another movie, more dark, called "the Devil's Backbone" i also highly recommend if you like Del Toro's work. xoxo
It's also a metaphor for the power of fantasy/human imagination being one of the better qualities of humanity versus the brutal reality of cruelty/warmaking.
This one was too much for me. I only watched a reaction, but it's just too dark and so sad. Still appreciate you, though! Hope you make it through it alright. ❤
The idea for Guillermo del Toro, according to himself, is that people are born into one family and choose another. Mercedes is Ofelia's chosen mother. She is a kindred spirit, who used to believe in fairies as a child, showing Ofelia's future had she stopped believing. Also, the image of the girl holding a baby on the stelae is paralleled by Ofelia holding her brother and Mercedes holding Ofelia.
All time favourite film. Fabulous
The gringos offered the director a pile of money to be able to make his own version and not read subtitles, but he rejected it because the movie would be for the general public (without violence), Ofelia would be asian and the faun would be done in CGI
This movie makes me cry so so much. The ending is so heartbreaking
Just because it is an underworld,doesn't mean it is evil.nor hellish
i don't know if you got this or not but the film took place during the spanish civil war (1936-39) which brought fascist franco to power. franco had fascist italy and nazi germany on his side. the other side, called "the republicans," were anti-fascist, pro-democracy groups who were brutally betrayed by the "western democracies" and were left on their own to be annihilated by the fascists. franco ruled spain with an iron fist until his death in 1975.
i think this film is a metaphor not only for the civil war but franco's cruel 35 year rule and the innocent blood he shed to stay in power. and spain's rebirth as a free society after franco's death. EXCELLENT FILM. one of my favorites from the 2000s. thanks for the video.
The movie very deliberately leaves it open for the viewers to decide for themselves whether the magic was real or all in Ofelia's head.
Regarding whether the magic is real or just Ofelia's imagination. Personally, I do think the imagination angle is more likely, but above all the the movie is deliberately left ambiguous, so it is inviting you to make your own interpretation. It is by desing made in a way that allows you to make up your own mind. And I like that a lot.
For me, this is genuinely one of the greatest films ever made and contains one of the most profound, most viscerally satifying moments of justice ever in any film. The Captain receives the most unspeakably terrible punishment he could ever imagine with the words and the knowledge...."He won't even know your name".
I love this movies, it works on so many levels!
I've always interpreted the magic as real (mostly because it's nicer than thinking it's a coping mechanism for her trauma, though I like that both interpretations can be correct) and thought the reasons why other people couldn't see the faun or fairies was because they weren't of the Princess's kingdom. And as for the final test, it was never to spill the blood of the innocent...The final test was to sacrifice herself over harming an innocent person, which like you said, goes along with not blindly following orders and creating your own path. But I believe if she had allowed the faun to harm her brother, she would not have been allowed to return to the kingdom.
And I always forget how brutal this movie is until I start it again...there are some shocking and uncomfortable moments of violence in this. The Capitan is absolutely evil to the core and it follows a theme that is present in most of Guillermo del Toro's movies: that man is the real monster. The Faun might look scary, but he is actually just trying to help her return to her kingdom; you really need to be worried about the fascist who will shoot a child without a second thought.
The practical effects in this movie are out of this world. Both the Faun and The Pale Man are played by the same actor: Doug Jones...who is a master of movement, silent performances and working with some extreme makeup jobs...he's best known as Billy from Hocus Pocus and one of The Gentlemen from Buffy the Vampire Slayer...The only bit of CGI for the Faun was removing the bottom half of Jones' legs. And he had to learn how to speak Spanish phonetically for working on set, and then his voice was dubbed later.
And side note, I went to the Guillermo del Toro exhibit at my local museum a few years ago and got to see both The Faun and The Pale Man in person and...there are no words for how cool they both looked.
And you should check out Crimson Peak!!
Wonderful movie and a great, genuine reaction. Thank you!
Great reaction, such a sad tragic story. Also I just noticed your Dr Who poster, awesome!
I believe you're right and it's a wonderful tale about disobedience
I believe ot was real. There ate things that can't be explained otherwise, like Ofelia getting into the Captain's room, or the mandrake root immediately after thrown into the fire and then her mother died.
So glad you watched this! And I love your reaction and your review. I think we all believe that Ofelia is indeed a princess and Guillermo del Toro a magician. You should definitely watch, The Shape of Water, Pacific Rim and his version of Pinocchio, trust me, you’ll love those ones!
I actually have a reaction to Pinocchio, and the shape of water is regularly on Patreon polls. It’ll win one day! I saw Pacific Rim before I started the channel :) here’s Pinocchio
ruclips.net/video/82sco3WXM4Q/видео.html
@@CasualNerdReactions ohh cool! I will definitely check those! 😃
Via Wikipedia (since describing in my own words is a bit difficult):
“Magic realism or magical realism is a style or genre of fiction and art that presents a realistic view of the world while incorporating magical elements, often blurring the lines between fantasy and reality…Despite including certain magic elements, it is generally considered to be a different genre from fantasy because magical realism uses a substantial amount of realistic detail and employs magical elements to make a point about reality, while fantasy stories are often separated from reality…magical realism is often associated with Latin-American literature, including founders of the genre, particularly the authors Gabriel García Márquez, Isabel Allende, Jorge Luis Borges, Juan Rulfo, Miguel Ángel Asturias, Elena Garro, Mireya Robles, Rómulo Gallegos and Arturo Uslar Pietri.”
The clues are all there if you know how to read a film. I'm surprised that many people resist the obvious since there is absolutely nothing in the film that would make the veracity of the narration suspect. Remember that the language of film means that the presumption is that the narration is the truth, so the events are not in her imagination. And her story of the magic rose is meant to clue the viewer into her motivation, and why she bravely performs such distasteful tasks.
"A long time ago, in the underground realm, where there are no lies or pain, there lived a Princess who dreamed of the human world. She dreamed of blue skies, soft breeze, and sunshine. One day, eluding her keepers, the Princess escaped. Once outside, the brightness blinded her and erased every trace of the past from her memory. She forgot who she was and where she came from. Her body suffered cold, sickness, and pain. Eventually, she died. However, her father, the King, always knew that the Princess' soul would return, perhaps in another body, in another place, at another time. And he would wait for her, until he drew his last breath, until the world stopped turning..."
"Many, many years ago in a sad, faraway land, there was an enormous mountain made of rough, black stone. At sunset, on top of that mountain, a magic rose blossomed every night that made whoever plucked it immortal. But no one dared go near it because its thorns were full of poison. Men talked amongst themselves about their fear of death, and pain, but never about the promise of eternal life. And every day, the rose wilted, unable to bequeath its gift to anyone... forgotten and lost at the top of that cold, dark mountain, forever alone, until the end of time."
Ophelia and the Princess are a merged character and the film is about this sorting itself out as she seeks the rose..
The film is definitely another version of Alice In Wonderland, in an early scene Ophelia even dresses like Alice. They have the same virtues; curiosity, courage, kindness, intelligence, courtesy, humor, dignity, and a sense of justice. Both are "maternal" - Alice with the Duchess' baby, Ophelia with her baby brother.
"And it is said that the Princess returned to her father's kingdom. That she reigned there with justice and a kind heart for many centuries. That she was loved by her people. And that she left behind small traces of her time on Earth, visible only to those who know where to look."
You need to watch Tarsem Singh's "The Fall" starring Lee Pace from 2006. It's amazing journey!
Several things: Del Toro has stated that the magic was real. I think the biggest indicator is the magic chalk worked: She would not have escaped the room the Captain locked her in without it. The Underworld is less the land of the dead like we view it in things like Greek Mythology (though that isn't totally out of the picture given that her mortal life had to end for her to go back). This is very tied to old world folklore to do with fae and such: they are people from under the Hill; they are from the underground. And she died, yes, but it was made clear she would have to stop being human before she could go home, so.
Lol, yeah, this movie goes two very different ways, and since it's a movie, it lets you pick, but boooy are the implications dire, depending on which one you go for
one of the few movies that made me literally just cry down my shirt, like I was bleeding
A Faun is not a not a Vampire. And what looks evil is not always evil, what looks good is not always good.
The young girl in this film went on to play Eretria in "The Shannara Chronicles," a fantasy series. I recommend the first season. It's worth a watch, based on Terry Brooks' novel series.
I was told by the spirits this is a half true story. The goddess is a relative of Helena, a goddess related to Hades if im not mistaken. Not all of the story is true not all of it is false
Ofelia sí eligió, desde el momento en que se negó a que la sangre de su hermano fuera derramada. Perdón por no escribir en inglés.
"Looks like a fairy... but scarier" This is what the Fae look like, not that (fun) Disney stuff. ❤
Actually the cantabrian anjanas were very close to how disney potrayed them....
Ive been to the spirit realms. Decide for yourself what this film is about.
If i had watched this as a kid i for sure would have been a bit creeped out. But as an adult it creeped me out and i cried a bit.
The Spanish civil war is a dark and still present shadow in Spain story.
This story is so wonderful. I watched it first, after I found the book and read it.
Thought it was a fairy tale and then had to cry over and over again.
Every time i watch that movie, still have to cry. So beautifully told.
My friend and I completely disagree what the ending meant.
I think Guillermo del Toro is brilliant. I love all of his films.
It's been years since I last saw this film, but it's exactly what cinema should be (or at least, should be more often).
Top 5 movies of all time
Such a magical, fabulous movie...
I appreciate people who watch movies with the original soundtrack. I've always been too lazy and watched "Pan's Labyrinth" in the German dubbed version (I'm from Austria). 🙂
I'm from Germany and I watched both versions. Had to watch it in spanish because the US 4k Blu Ray doesn't have the german dub on it. I recently bought a spanish import Blu Ray that is upscaled to 4k and does come with the german dub. This movie looks simply amazing in 4k.
A beautiful tale
The Faun and the pale man (baby-eating monster) is played by one of my favorite actors: Doug Jones❤
He's played monsters in other Del Toro films and he's always brilliant.
I'm so happy to see you watch this!!!! This is what I'm studying in film studies currently in college and is an amazing film with so many different interpretations!
Watching Pan's Labyrinth? Insta-click.
I dont think the faun being "evil" or "good" should be the focus of what we take out of this movie at all. There are way more important and significant messages/characters to be taken out of this movie.
Faeries aren't good or evil. They just are. People like the ones they think are helpful, but the Fae have their own ways.
@@purcascade that's why I put evil and good inside commas. In real life theres no such thing as evil and good
Bowie version was y better
Still one of my favorite movies. It hasn’t lost any of its power. Lovely reaction. ❤️🩹
I keep seeing new parallels and appreciating different aspects. Ofelia and Mercedes being fiercely protective of their bothers, but sometimes feeling inadequate, like you pointed out. The bloodthirsty man (or monster) sitting at the head of the dining table while most are hungry (the “Pale Man” and the Captain). The importance of keys to both a Mercedes and Ofelia. The list goes on.
I suppose d**th is technically a place without pain or lies. 😕 Also, in a time of starvation, state, and interpersonal violence, I assume Ofelia’s mother found unusual “stability” by being with the Captain. At least that way she could ostensibly have food, for herself and kid, and be protected from other fascists. With a few enormous caveats, of course. But her reasoning makes sense to me, however unfortunate.
Oh yes. One of those good movies you don't want to see again. Watching you watch it is close enough. Good analysis.🧓🎭💖