Pan's Labyrinth

Pan’s Labyrinth It is not often that a movie has the ability to reach out and absorb you into its world; it is even less often that it manages to keep your attention even after the credits have hit the screen. Years after I first viewed Pan’s Labyrinth, director and writer Guillermo del Toro’s magnificent science fiction film manages to do just that. Perhaps it is simply it’s amazing use of make-up, animatronics and CGI that helps this dark fairytale capture my attention or perhaps, more truthfully, it is the film’s creative use of Jungian Archetypes that forces myself, among others, to relate and sympathize with the characters while believing whole heartedly in the reality of this fairytale story. Pan’s Labyrinth takes place in Spain, only five years after the Spanish Civil War and during the early François period. The film clearly uses Jungian archetypes throughout the film to help portray both the real world and the magical-spirit world that its characters interact with. It is through our main character Ofelia that we are able to travel between the two worlds. It is Ofelia’s story and the archetypes therein that grab us, forcing us to travel along with her as she faces numerous trials in an attempt to leave behind the ever increasing horror of her reality and escape to the magic that is the Labyrinth. Ofelia is del Toro’s first Jungian archetype. As the film’s main character, she represents by far the most easily recognized Jungian archetype, the hero. It is Ofelia’s hero’s journey that we follow with baited breath. It is her anguish that makes us feel dread and her joy at surpassing trials that allows us to breathe again. In the beginning of the film Ofelia is portrayed as being week and timid, she constantly seeks to attain her mother’s attention and cannot seem to live without her mother’s approval. During her journey Ofelia leaves behind the innocent archetype of Maiden and becomes a true Hero. She faces numerous trials and grows as an individual, becoming a strong young woman who does not hesitate and goes after what she wants. It is Ofelia’s stepfather who represents the villain or Devil figure in the film. Without Captain Vidal, Ofelia would have no plight, no reason to escape reality and thus we would have no story. Captain Vidal fills the role of Devil figure perfectly, his abuse of power and overly harsh and brutal punishments causes the viewer to cringe and close their eyes. Del Toro shows the true nature of the Captain by having us watch as he uses a beer bottle to kill a farmer’s son in front of the farmer by beating his face in. While this would normally disturb the viewer, it is del Toro’s brilliant if nauseatingly detailed murder scene that causes the viewer to shudder and view the Captain as a real monster. Yet, it is in his cruelty that Captain Vidal becomes a true Jungian archetype. He is not just mean, he is portrayed as evil, the yin to Ofelia’s yang. Without his villainous acts, Ofelia would have not started out on her journey and as such his character is of the utmost importance. Del Toro uses many other Jungian archetypes throughout the film, allowing the story to travel from the violence of the Captain to the magic of the Faun. It is the character of the Faun that fills another of Carl Jung’s well known archetypes, the mentor or wise man. It is the faun that gives Ofelia the means to leave her reality behind, giving her the possibility to escape to the magical world where she is a lost fairy princess. He acts as a guide through the labyrinth and the trails Ofelia has to face to leave her world behind for good. It is the Faun that supplies Ofelia with another example of a Jungian archetype, her loyal retainers or in Ofelia’s case, the Faun’s fairies. They are used as a magical tool to help Ofelia accomplish her goals and surpass the three trials set before her. Del Toro manages to weave many more archetypes throughout the story. He portrays Ofelia’s mother as the Damsel in distress, the character of Maribel acts as Ofelia’s archetypical Mother, giving her warmth and comfort, and Ofelia’s unborn sibling is represented by Jung’s archetype the Child, representing rebirth and innocence. Perhaps though, it is del Toro’s portrayal of the Pale man that accomplishes what all the other archetypes portrayed do not. It is the Pale man as the Jungian archetype of Shadow that resounds so greatly within us as true. He manages to embody our fear, our shame, our anger at the world and our grief that we cannot change it. The Pale man is the personification of the idea that we are not good enough. Del Toro shows this by having Ofelia almost fail at this, her second task, and loose two of the fairy helpers given to her by the Faun. She gives in to temptation and the Pale man makes her pay for it. He is the dark side of the viewer that wishes for Ofelia to fail, if only to make the story more interesting. He acts as another layer, another foil to Ofelia’s maiden- hero. His representation of the shadow is so well done that he is even shown as being all white; symbolizing that even within our greatest fears there is a ray of hope. That often our greatest trials lead us to our greatest joys. Overall it is del Toro’s amazing ability to interweave Jungian archetypes, incredible animatronics and breathtaking story to create such an unforgettable film. His use of archetype brings a hidden meaning to every character and allows for a more in-depth understanding of whom they are and why they act as they do. It allows for Ofelia to grow past her innocent Maiden persona and into a fully realized hero, even if in becoming the hero she must die. Pan’s Labyrinth creates a story that surpassed language barriers in its appeal to mass audience and landed its place firmly in history for its incredibly vivid and often creepy portrayal of the world in which its archetypical characters reside. It is with these archetypes that del Toro manages to make his film both one of a kind and yet part of science fiction and film culture that is prevalent today. It captures our attention, grasps our imagination and forces us to leave the theatre wishing we could watch it all over again.