SPOILER ALERT******SPOILER ALERT******SPOILER ALERT
Now that’s out of the way…
I was going to write a full review of Pan’s Labyrinth, but time constraints and laziness got in the way. Besides, what more is there to say? I agree with the other critics. It’s a masterpiece. So I thought I’d focus on the ending, which popular critics are barred from discussing.
Incredibly, the ending is somehow both tragic and happy. Ofelia dies, but in death she finds peace, fantasizing that she is reunited with her mother in a beautiful kingdom (or actually being reunited with her mother for eternity, if your inclination is more spiritual). Even though her life is too short, she fulfills one of our fondest hopes: that we die happy.
Interestingly, only at the end of the movie is it certain that the fantasy world is truly make-believe. Because the film starts with shots of the mythical kingdom, we’re predisposed to believe that Pan’s world is real, a magical reality beyond the reality we know–Narnia rather than Oz. The second shot in the film is of Ofelia reading a book about the fantasy world. On paper, this would suggest the preceding images of the kingdom are just a figment of Ofelia’s imagination, but the entrancing visual evidence is so strong we’re not so sure. Numerous fantasy films before have the used the strategy of suggesting that that the fantasy world is not real, only to end in a way that proves that it is real. We’re not about to fall into the trap of not believing again.
But given that the fantasy world is just a product of Ofelia’s imagination, what’s the point? Well, if one imagines the film’s story with Ofelia talking to walls instead of Faun, and nosing around a rotten tree rather than chasing a giant toad, then a dark narrative becomes a horribly depressing one. The tale is reduced to a child going to live with her cruel stepfather, her mother dying in childbirth and the stepfather shooting her. The end.
But Ofelia’s fantasies, imaginary as they may be, give meaning and purpose to her life. The fantasy is not merely an escape, it also motivates an act of heroism (when she takes the baby from Captain Vidal). The fantasy gives her the strength to bear an awful situation. It offers hope when her mother is dying, and gives her resolve in the face of danger. In its way, her attachment to the fantasy world echoes the motivating power of the great illusions that guide our lives: the ideal of a soulmate, belief in God, the promise of permanent happiness. Her plea to an imaginary creature not to kill the baby is no different than a mother’s prayer to God to save her sick child. It’s not the success of the prayer that’s important, but what it means for the supplicant.
March 21, 2007 at 2:38 pm |
I would tend to disagree with your assessment that the fantasy world is only make believe. In fact, the director himself has stated that he believes the Underworld to be real. He points out the tree that blooms only at the end as proof of this.
March 21, 2007 at 7:53 pm |
If you wish to read into the ending further, it could be said that the girl’s adventures are a metaphor for the entire spanish civil war. She’s essentially fighting against the state in the form of her stepfather, and winds up sacrificing herself for the good of the future generations
March 22, 2007 at 2:38 am |
I agree with bro, but I’m not so sure about the idea that the underworld is supposed to be real. Doesn’t the final scene, where we see the Captain watching her talk to thin air–while Ofelia thinks she’s talking to the Faun–proof that the underworld is not real? If it were, you would think it would offer some protection against the Captain. Even if it is real, what does it matter? Its impact on the real world is only psychological or metaphysical, not physical–which makes it no different from religious fantasies.
April 5, 2007 at 1:13 pm |
I’m not sure why, but I was a little disappointed with the ending. I’ll try to figure out why when I see it on DVD. However, I do agree that, overall, the film is a masterpiece.
June 8, 2007 at 4:15 pm |
When i first saw this movie, i watched the end and said to myself “Oh i see.. The fantasy world was in her head the whole time.” That simple quote started a heated debate with my sister and I that lasted a while.
Personaly, i think its obvious its not real. Theres proof everywhere.
When the colonal steps into the middle of the labyrinth and sees her standing alone. Or when shes “princess” and her mothers the queen. That being said, there was one single peace of evidence to support the realness of it. What the hell was up with the Mandrake? It was alive, for sure. And when it died the mother died.
All in all, the fantasy world was make believe, which is the true beauty of this story.
And even id the director believes in the underworld, it certainly gives no ties to this movie.
June 22, 2007 at 1:36 pm |
I just saw this movie for the first time last night, and the ending is killing me, that’s what brought me here.
Anyway, I tend to feel that the whole thing was made up (and it’s depressing to think that!), but there are two things that bother me about this. First is the very end, with the flower blooming on the tree. With that, it seems like the director is confirming that the fantasy world is real. And second, how did the girl get out of the room to take the baby? There were people guarding the room, and instructed to kill her if she tried anything. The only reasonable explanation as to how she got out is with the chalk the Faun gave her.
July 1, 2007 at 4:28 am |
i just saw it a couple of minutes ago and it was awesome. the ending just showed that it was the only way for her to escape her real-life. maybe the flower blossomed because the tree was alive and wasn’t dead at all to begin with and it was all in her mind. but then you could also say that the stepfather saw her talking to nobody because he was completely delusional from the medicine the daughter put in the vodka and had no idea what was going on. either way, a great movie.
September 21, 2007 at 1:00 am |
Does it matter if the fantasy is real or not? The girl dies happy and I the baby does not have to grow up with a sadistic… well you-know. Whether the fantasy is true or not, the ending is as it should be. Simple as that.
October 17, 2007 at 6:55 am |
The whole point of the ending is that you can’t tell! You don’t know whether it was all in her imagination or not, and there are many strong arguments for either side, most of which have already been mentioned. There is no way to tell whether the stepfather couldn’t see the fawn because it didn’t exist or because he wasn’t a child. Or maybe it was because he wasn’t an immortal. That is why the ending is so beautiful.
October 19, 2007 at 3:56 pm |
Endings that are uncertain suck. Fortunately, we can logically figure out the truth in this case.
There was plenty of evidence that the fantasy elements were true. Ophelia was reading the book which told her of blood just before her mother’s crisis. Ophelia’s mother did get better when the mandragora was under her bed. These are either mistakes or proof that the fantasy was real.
Assuming that everything was real up to Ophelia’s death, the question becomes, did she make it to the underworld or simply die? Considering the fairy who’d been eaten before was present, I say she was dying and saw what she wanted in her mind just before she died. Not only that, but what’s with that goody-goody “you chose not to spill the blood of the innocent” crap? I’ve let people give my kids shots and take their blood because I know it’s what’s best for them. She couldn’t spill a single drop of his blood to save them both? That’s a little over the top, even for underworld rulers. The whole premise of that test is bogus.
October 29, 2007 at 11:14 pm |
What was “real” was only in the eye of Ofelia. Keep that in mind. The exertion the mother had killed her, not the root in the fire. Pay close attention to how the scene was edited.
It was all a fantasy to her, and despite my research, I strongly believe the mother was the Queen at the end, only under major makeup.
December 15, 2007 at 7:09 am |
you guys didnt read the first post? Take a look to the directors interview http://www.aintitcool.com/?q=node/31084
SPOILERS
Basically the pan was the frog and the pale man, so the tasks were all set up just to test Ofelia. The end is the real one.
June 30, 2009 at 12:53 pm |
I think there’s way too much supernatural stuff going on for the fantasy world not to be real. How else do you explain her mother’s improving health and then sudden death if it wasn’t the mandrake? How did she get into the Captain’s presumably guarded room to take the baby if she didn’t have the chalk that could make portals?
August 2, 2009 at 11:05 am |
I agree with john. The whole point was that the audience is not supposed to be spoonfed the story. I hate films that end with everything neatly tied up so the audience can leave happy in the knowledge that they dont have to think for themselves. My favourite part in the movie IS the ending because 1, considering the political implications in the film, civil wars end, fulfilling everybody’s dreams, but nobody knows for sure that the happiness is true and long lasting. 2, it shows that ophelia died happily knowing that she did the right thing, whether or not the events leading up to it were real is unimportant.
August 8, 2009 at 8:06 pm |
Ok, the REAL ending… It was all a dream. The next day, Ofelia wakes up realizing that she had her first period.
September 8, 2009 at 3:29 am |
Why do people keep saying that Vidal’s inability to see the faun proves its all make believe? Everybody knows that grownups can’t see fairies.
There was too much magic/fantasy stuff affecting the RL storyline. 1. Mandrake root 2. Ophelia’s escape 3. Flower at the end 4. The labyrinth opening for Ophelia so Vidal can’t catch up