03 October 2014

How does the narrative create meaning in Pans Labyrinth?

The narrative of "pans labyrinth" although having an element of the fantasy genre, it does not follow the CHN (classic Hollywood narrative). The binary opposition of the main character, ophelia a little girl, from her point of view is Vidal as he is a suggested villain. His characteristics suggest he is a stock character because of his want for power and sadistic behaviour. Using stock characters similar to propps theory, suggests that the narrative will follow the typical structure of a fairytale. The director however kills ophelia by her step dad to create the audiences realisation of the issues occurring in Spain at this time. There is a not constant conflict between ophelia and Vidal, as the underlying conflict is between the spanish soldiers and the rebels. The war and op helipad mum becoming ill because of her pregnancy is what causes ophelias fantasies to occur so that she can escape reality.  The message to the audience from this may be that we use film and other sources to also distract ourselves from the real issues in reality.

In comparison to "la haine" which was filmed in a much more realistic way, "pans labyrinth" although the technique could be seen as subtle, the message when realised is more shocking.