Lost or found?
Pan's Labyrinth(2006)
It's strange that a fantastic world like the one explored in Guillermo del Toro's latest film would feel so familiar.
As I watched the movie, fascinated, I wondered why I felt so at home.
There was, of course, the mastery of the writer/director, del Toro, weaving a heartbreaking story between two worlds -- the early days of Franco's fascist Spain and the magical one beyond the labyrinth.
And, of course, there are obvious parallels between a classic children's tale so recently brought to life on the big screen, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, as well as other stories of children finding new worlds in their imagination as a way to escape the fear, violence and pain in their real world -- Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Tales from the Neverending Story come to mind. (With the lingering questions in all, of course, about whether the worlds really were imaginary, after all.)
But it was more than that.
Then, as I was reading and thinking about the film -- and what I was going to write here -- it hit me.
Magical Realism.
It's a long literary tradition, with particularly strong ties to Latin American cultures. It's been a while, I'll admit, since I read anything that would fall squarely into that genre. In fact, the only specific work that sticks in my mind is Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits. But this film fits into that tradition beautifully.
In Magical Realism, there is only a thin veil between the real world and the world of magic and spirits, and each has undeniable ties to and effects on the other. The characters that are able to cross the boundary need only to be open to the possibilities.
It occurs to me that an author with more cache (Oprah's book club, anyone?) but with strong Magical Realism tendencies is Toni Morrison. She's more watercooler-friendly, so her stories are a great place to start if you want to explore the fine line between reality and "fantasy".
And while the magical world is not necessarily spiritual, there are obvious parallels. It seems to me to be no coincidence that the same parts of the world that nurture mystical systems of belief like voodoo and santeria also cultivate tales like this one.
And, in a world where organized "religion" can be maligned (and not unjustifiably) with the simple assertion that across the centuries millions have died in the name of God at the hands of men gripped by evil, is it any surprise that magic and spirits feel more comfortable, more real, than liturgy and priests?
(In Pan's Labyrinth, watch for the comment by the priest at the dinner party where plans are made to squeeze the rebels into submission. A wolf in sheepskin if there ever has been one ... )
And this story in particular, which is clearly populated by mythical creatures with no ties to Christianity, centers on undeniably Christian themes: Judgment and redemption.
Young Ofelia (aka Princess Moanna) will learn soon enough, her mother informs her, that she'll have to compromise her beliefs if she wants to survive. The real world -- a fallen one (a Christian worldview that is not spelled out in the film, but is obviously illustrated by the irrational violence that reigns in fascist Spain) -- is nothing like her fairy realm.
Yet we see other characters -- and adults, at that -- making choices with very harsh consequences in an effort to turn things right again. In the words of one such character who pays with his life, what other choice do they have?
Ofelia is ultimately faced with the same choice that we all are: Will we blindly obey the urgings of the world (or our own selfish human nature), or will we strike out on faith and put it all on the line for what we believe is right?
So is this a tale of tragedy or triumph?
That depends on which is more important: the "real" world or the fairy world, our bodies or our souls.
Labels: theater
posted by Tricia at
4:10 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home