History Film / PansLabyrinth

Imagine ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meeting]] ''Literature/TheBoyInTheStripedPyjamas'', then joined by ''Film/TheWindThatShakesTheBarley'' with a sizable portion of [[Creator/TheBrothersGrimm The Brothers]] [[{{Grimmification}} Grimm]] thrown in.

''Pan's Labyrinth'' (Original Spanish title: ''El Laberinto del Fauno''), a dark, modern-day fairy tale, complete with [[TheFairFolk fairies]], [[SecretTestOfCharacter Secret Tests Of Character]], and monsters -- not all of them supernatural.

* AdultFear: For a film with supernatural terrors as scary as the Pale Man, it's an accomplishment that the most chilling moments in the film come from the very real evils of Fascism and the authoritarian, sociopathic figures that it attracts.[[spoiler:For mothers: [[DeathByChildbirth You die of childbirth]] leaving your little daughter with only your new husband, who turns out to be a sociopath [[WickedStepmother wicked stepfather]] who has no qualms with killing her if she someday gets in his way.]]

** Vidal seems to have put a lot of thought into what he will say when/if the time comes. Subverted as we never hear it because he is [[ShutUpHannibal made shut his face]] and [[BoomHeadshot killed]].

** Mercedes' [[BadassBoast badass boast]] to Vidal includes her telling him not to harm Ofelia. [[spoiler:Vidal murders Ofelia in cold blood at the end of the film.]]

* InkblotTest: The FiveSecondflForeshadowing towards [[spoiler:Carmen's pregnancy hemorrhage]] as Ofelia's book inks the shape of a bleeding uterus, drenching the pages in red.

%%* JustFollowingOrders: Subverted.

* {{Lunacy}}: The moon is connected to the world of magic, and the Faun requires Ofelia to complete the tasks by the time the moon is full. Del Toro talks about the association of the moon with the female nature, and of its phases with the concept of change. Therefore, it represents Ophelia's metamorphosis from a girl into a woman [[spoiler: and ultimately (back) into a fairy]].

* KillHimAlready: Mercedes should probably have [[spoiler:killed Vidal when she had him at her mercy to avert the BittersweetEnding. However, according to WordOfGod: Mercedes' knife was intended to be too small to inflict serious damage on as formidable an opponent as Captain Vidal. On a symbolic level, such a fearsome monster as Captain Vidal needed something equally fearsome to finish him off. Such is the nature of a fairy tale.)]]

* ImpossiblyDeliciousFood: The feast at the Pale Man's den. In following the fairy tale motif, it was ''faerie'' food which is almost always glamoured to make it seem like irresistible. Ofelia likely haven't eaten at least a day so she was probably starving, making it seem all the more delicious.
* InkblotTest: The foreshadowing towards [[spoiler:Carmen's pregnancy hemorrhage]] as Ofelia's book inks the shape of a bleeding uterus, drenching the pages in red.

* EnvironmentalSymbolism: From the obvious (the tree the frog resides under is shaped like a ram's head) to the more subtle (the bannisters in the house ''also'' have ram's heads, and the headboard of the mother's bed has details shaped like ram's horns. The opening of the tree is also intentional vaginal imagery.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything?: The children's shoes piled in the den of the Pale Man are eerily reminiscent of the Holocaust. Given the movie is set in [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII 1944]], this is likely intentional.

* {{Lunacy}}: The moon is connected to the world of magic, and the Faun requires Ofelia to complete the tasks by the time the moon is full. Del Toro talks about the association of the moon with the female nature, and of its phases with the concept of change. Therefore, it represents Ophelia's metamorphosis from a girl into a woman.

* MeaningfulName: Girls named [[TheOphelia Ofelia]] don't tend to have happy endings.

* MonstrousHumanoid: The Pale Man is a pale, skeletal, humanoid [[TheFairFolk creature]] with [[EyesDoNotBelongThere eyes on the palms of its hands]] that usually sits at the head of a table laden with an [[FoodChains enchanted feast]]. Anyone who eats the food wakes him up and, [[IAmAHumanitarian well...]]

* MamaBear: Mercedes is a maternal figure to Ofelia, and she violently protects her near the climax, even more than Ofelia's real mother Carmen, who actually proves to be a fairly weak person.

** When the Captain welcomes Ofelia and the pregnant Carmen to the villa, he says ''"Bienvenidos"'' to them, the Spanish form of "welcome" that one would use in addressing multiple people when at least one is male (you'd say "Bienvenidas" to two women.) This would instantly telegraph to a Spanish-speaking audience whom he ''really'' cares about, especially since the baby's sex is still unknown. Although del Toro gets the point across for non-Spanish speakers too by having the Captain wait until he's checked Carmen's pregnant belly before he welcomes them.

* AllJustADream: [[spoiler:NOPE! Guillermo del Toro states that everything in the film was real.]]

* TheDyingWalk: [[spoiler:Doctor Ferreiro begins walking away from the room where he gave a MercyKill to Vidal's torture victim and revealed himself as TheMole. Vidal shoots the doctor in the back as he's walking, and the doctor continues walking, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhSjnG5pMOY but only for a few more steps]]... Ofelia dies in the same vein, though she's shot in the chest rather than the back of the head.

* TheDyingWalk: [[spoiler:Doctor Ferreiro begins walking away from the room where he gave a MercyKill to Vidal's torture victim and revealed himself as TheMole. Vidal shoots the doctor in the back as he's walking, and the doctor continues walking, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhSjnG5pMOY but only for a few more steps]]...]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Dr. Ferreiro remarks to Captain Vidal that blind obedience without questioning is something only men like him practice. [[spoiler: For her last task, Ofelia promises the faun that she will obey any command he gives without questioning, but refuses to risk her brother's safety.]]

** The plant that the Faun gives Ofelia to heal her mother requires a few drops of fresh blood daily in order to work.
** At the finale, blood is needed to open the magic portal.

%% * BreakTheCutie: Having fun yet, Ofelia?

* ByTheEyesOfTheBlind: The Faun, even when in plain sight, can only be seen by those who "know where to look" and are ready to believe. Or so says WordOfGod Creator/GuillermoDelToro on the DVDCommentary.
* CentralTheme: The film is about moral choice and disobedience. All of the characters face the choice of whether to obey Captain Vidal and the evil government he represents, or risk everything by resisting. Ofelia disobeys her mother by going deeper into the world of magic, and goes against Captain Vidal by keeping Mercedes' secret, but eventually she must also decide whether to obey the Faun: [[spoiler:By refusing to sacrifice her brother as the last task, she passes the Faun's SecretTestOfCharacter and gets her final reward]].

* AnyoneCanDie: By the end of the film [[spoiler:nearly every established character is dead, including the protagonist.]]

* GlasgowGrin: Vidal gets half of one when he finds out that Mercedes is spying for the rebesl. He tries to capture her, but she slashes his mouth with a knife that was on her. He then stitches himself up. Squick.

* {{Lunacy}}: The moon is connected to the world of magic, and the Faun requires Ofelia to complete the tasks by the time thee moon is full. Del Toro talks about the association of the moon with the female nature, and of its phases with the concept of change. Therefore, it represents Ophelia's metamorphosis from a girl into a woman.

** The sedative the doctor leaves on Ofelia's mother's bedside. [[Ofelia takes it and drugs Captain Vidal's liquor glass when she goes to get her brother]].
** The chalk that the Faun gives Ofelia to make a door into the chamber of the Pale Man. She uses it again to [[get into Captain Vidal's room]].

* DoomedMoralVictor: Ofelia, paralleling the Republican side in the actual UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar. [[She dies for doing the right thing instead of what she was told, and this small rebel victory cannot last when Franco is destined to rule for decades more, but they have proved themselves more morally courageous than their opressors, and someday because of people like them Spain will be free again]].

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: The Faun tells Ofelia that she is really princess Moanna of the underworld, and that her father sent him to test and guide her so she can go back home. Ofelia goes to great lengths to prove herself worthy of being a princes, and in the epilogue [[we're told that she ruled wisely and was loved by her people]].

* {{Unperson}}: "He won't even know your name." [[spoiler: Vidal and Carmen's son will be probably brought up by kind Mercedes, but she promises her evil father his son will never hear about him.]] Ooh, that stings...

%% * ActionSurvivor: Ofelia. [[spoiler:Though not for long]].

%% * BigBad: Vidal.

%% * BloodKnight: Captain Vidal.

%% * FairyTale

%% * HeroOfAnotherStory: Pedro, the leader of the rebels.

%% * IHaveManyNames: The Faun.

%% * InfantImmortality: [[spoiler:Averted.]]

%%* ThePlace
%% * PluckyGirl: Ofelia.

%% * PsychoForHire: Captain Vidal.

%% * ReverseMole: Mercedes and Doctor Ferreiro.

* TheSouthpaw: Ofelia is left-handed. It is a subtle sign that she actually is a changeling. Also the first KickTheDog moment for her stepfather, who tells her to use the right hand instead, though it was quite common to try to correct children in that time.

%% ** Other themes make an appearance, though.

%% * VaderBreath: The Pale Man.

%% * WouldHurtAChild: Captain Vidal.
%% * WouldntHurtAChild: [[spoiler: The Faun, although he's pretty effective at playacting otherwise.]]

* MeaningfulName: Girls named [[Literature/{{Hamlet}} Ofelia]] don't tend to have happy endings.

%% * AstralCheckerboardDecor

* ColdBloodedTorture: Captain Vidal likes torturing his captives, most of the time to extract information, but he also tortures ForTheEvulz or to show that his men [[YouHaveFailedMe failed him]] or that they [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness have outlived their usefulness]].

* DeniedFoodAsPunishment: Ofelia is sent to bed without any meal dinner because she ruined her dress for the dinner.

%% * DiedHappilyEverAfter: See DiedInYourArmsTonight.

** Ofelia claims her father was a deceased tailor. The Faun, however, tells her that he's actually king of the underworld [[spoiler:and she meets him at the end]].

%% * DoomedMoralVictor: Ofelia, paralleling the Republican side in the actual UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar.
%% * DoomedNewClothes: Ofelia tries to [[DefiedTrope defy this trope]]. [[DoubleSubverted It doesn't work]].

%% * EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses

* EyelessFace: The Pale Man first looks like he has no eyes whatsoever. They are in his hands.
* EyesDoNotBelongThere: The Pale Man has his eyes ''in his hands''.
* FacePalm: The faeries cover her face with their hands when Ofelia breaches the Faun's order and eats the grapes.

* FantasyForbiddingFather: Fantasy Forbidding Parent. Ofelia is chided for reading too many fairy stories when she's supposed to have outgrown them. Her stepfather is outright hateful of them, her mother just considers it childish, [[spoiler:but when she throws the mandrake into the fire as proof of its superstition, the plant's pain kills her]].
* FaunsAndSatyrs: Ofelia meets a Faun who promises to make her a princess again if she does as he tells her. He has the horns and legs of a goat, and his whole body is covered in bark and moss like the woods he comes from. Unlike the little dancing fauns of Disney/{{Fantasia}}, or the friendly Mr. Tumnus from ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'', this faun is meant to look ancient, wild, and somewhat mysterious or threatening.

* HeroicSacrifice:** The doctor shows mercy and euthanizes the captured rebel, even though he surely knows it will cost his own life.
** [[spoiler:Ofelia refuses to let the Faun harm her brother, even though the Faun tells her she will get old and die.]]

* HumanoidAbomination: The Pale Man has grown emaciated while trapped in the netherworld, and his humanity has withered away.

%% * FaunsAndSatyrs
%% * FingerTwitchingRevival: The Pale Man.

%% * GrotesqueGallery: The Pale Man.

* HeroicSacrifice: The doctor shows mercy and euthanizes the captured rebel, even though he surely knows it will cost his own life.
%% ** [[spoiler:Ofelia herself at the end.]]

%% * HumanoidAbomination: The Pale Man. Ohh, The Pale Man.

%%* IronicNurseryTune: Averted.

%% * LivingLabyrinth

** In the scene with the eyeless man, we hear the knife.

%% * ChekhovsGun:
%% ** The knife Mercedes rolls up in her dress after cutting potatoes.
%% ** The sedative the doctor leaves on Ofelia's mother's bedside.
%% ** The chalk comes up again.

%% * CoDragons: Garcés and Serrano to Vidal.

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: Mercedes preferred to take her own life than give her pursuers the satisfaction of killing her. [[FateWorseThanDeath Or worse]].[[spoiler:Just before she was rescued by the rebels.]]

* KillTheCutie: [[spoiler:Ofelia's final fate. She is a lovely child, kind and good, but she dies -- at least for this real world.]]

%% * WrongGenreSavvy: Almost all the real world characters, but Carmen (Ofelia's mother) most of all.

** At the finale, blood is supposedly needed to open the magic portal.