Evaluation of Pan's Labyrinth

Pan’s Labyrinth is a sinister fairytale only suitable for adults and it is about a young girl that has one foot into reality and another foot into the fantasy world. The film won awards and praises from dozens of critics around the world. The director of Hellboy I and II and Blade II, Guillermo Del Toro’s serious dedication to the making of the film seemly affected its outcome as a brilliant film, visually and story-wise. It is brilliant because it is a creatively written, vivid film with a fantastic cast of actors. Since directors are the heart of films with their decision-making and direction, they usually are responsible for the outcome of their films.

Del Toro, who wasn’t just the director but the writer as well, added a prologue to the film which explained how the making of the film impacted him. It was brief, disturbing, and moving. He simply described, “Hi, this is Guillermo Del Toro and you are about to see the movie Pan’s Labyrinth. Er, this movie almost destroyed me…almost killed me. And it took away forty-five pounds of my body…many sleepless nights and, er, a lot of love. And, er, I hope you enjoy it, and get lost in it.” This showed how serious his dedication for the film was, for it ravaged him mentally and physically.

For a film to be considered an accomplishment, it needs an interesting plot with a pull in and keeps you at the edge of the seat, a cast of actors that are immersed into their role and are able to act their part aptly and send out a vibe to the audience with their role, appropriate, realistic visual effects that is suitable to the story and smooth organization of the entire film.

Pan’s Labyrinth was frequently nominated and won dozens of awards, which includes the Oscar, the Saturn Award, and the Golden Palm. Del Toro won awards for best original screenplay and best director. The actors for the main characters were often nominated and they all won awards for their acting skills. The young actress of the ten year old main character won awards for best young actress. The realistic graphic violence and the colorfully illuminated fantasy world filled with attention-grabbing creatures earned several best visual effects awards. With all of that, Pan’s Labyrinth also won awards for best film. The film is also highly appraised among movie critics. Pan’s Labyrinth made number one on acclaimed Roger Ebert’s Top Ten List for 2006. It also got positive reviews from distinguished newspapers such as Los Angeles Times and USA Today.

Pan’s Labyrinth is a hard-worked film that won approval by the entertainment industry in many ways, with awards and reviews as verification. Obviously, Del Toro’s hard work paid off. If you are a lover of somber drama and fantasy, Pan’s Labyrinth could be the movie for you to enjoy.

List of awards and nominations: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457430/awards

OWL Website

While looking through the Purdue OWL website that was designed for writing students, I saw that it could be an extremely helpful tool for anyone with their writing. There were few sections that would be really helpful for the GSR 102-01 class because it covered what we are learning now with a better description than that Lunsford et al. 2008 provides; structuring arguments, thesis, rhetorical analysis, and evidence. There also was English as a Second Language section which would be very helpful for students that are struggling with written English.

The website provides clear instructions and examples. For example, the thesis section is especially made to help writers make a strong, not feeble thesis for their writings. There are examples of typical mistakes writers make. What I really like about this is there are examples for each kind of mistakes, not just one general mistake. The explanations are clear, not too complicated. These are useful for me because making a strong, clear thesis is not one of my strengths. I might find myself visiting that certain section occasionally to improve my thesis.
The rhetorical analysis section explains the use of pathos, ethos, and logos in arguments. Lunsford et al. 2008 explains the importance of pathos, ethos, and logos but not as clear as OWL does. OWL explains more in depth, along with examples of dos and don’ts.

The research and evidence section was really important in my opinion. It showed the importance of the source of evidence, using evidence that best suits your audience. Evidence is based on the credibility of the source. OWL warns the use of Wikipedia on the internet, which is a popular source, for it is open to change by general viewers so it is not as accurate as sources from credible companies and writers. I personally tend to go to Wikipedia for sources. Now that I’ve read this, I will be trying to find other better sources.

The article I appreciated the most was the ESL (English as a Second Language) because I do struggle some with the grammar structure in writing. I was born almost profoundly deaf so sign language was my first language. English came later with my parent’s encouragement. This section provides grammar lessons that could improve understanding of the grammar structure for anyone, especially deaf people with sign language as their first language.

The OWL website in general would help Gallaudet students write their papers based on the Gallaudet University writing rubric because the main points of the rubric are citations, grammar, critical thinking, organization of ideas, and audience awareness. The OWL includes all these important points with a simple, depth explanation instead of the basics. This is why I recommend this website, it is very useful for this GSR 102-01 class and possibly for any papers that needs to be written in the future.

Pan's Labyrinth

Before starting the movie, Pan’s Labyrinth, we watched the director, Del Toro’s, prologue. His comments about how making the movie ravaged him mentally and physically made me want to watch the movie even more. When a director is so dedicated to the making of a film, the movie will most likely end up wonderful.

What appealed to me before I watched this movie was how it is rated R and the main character is only ten-something years old. As the movie started, I was drawn in with the style of the movie; the plot, the serious acting and the visual images. The plot started out nicely, with a pull in. The pull in was the ten-something year old girl, Ofelia, laying down with some blood coming out of her face, which is obviously a sneak peek into the ending. After that image is shown, the story starts back into the beginning. This keeps me in the edge of the seat, wondering how events would lead to that ending. Would there be a happy ending at all?

Then the story is introduced, Ofelia has a sick, pregnant mother that is newly married to a cruel captain that is a part of the fascist society. From there, I keep wondering how Ofelia ends up badly, possibly fatally, injured. Did the captain harm her or did the anti-fascist people do it because she is the captain’s step-daughter? Then I am immersed into the story after the mythical creatures are involved with Ofelia. Now I am wondering if it all is just a child fantasy that protects her from reality, which is dark and filled with hate. Or is it real?

The visuals are amazing, lots of color, rich in details, and the mythical creatures look real. Some movies have pathetic, corny visuals, which can ruin the movie. Also, the graphic violence was definitely not sugar coated for the audience. The violence was not overly done, but appears realistic. These images can make people wince and look away. I have seen overly done graphic violence in other films so I wasn’t affected much with this movie.

Some characters in the movie are inspiring, especially Mercedes and the doctor. They have the intimidating role of spying inside the enemy zone, for the sake of their people. They didn’t crack under pressure and did their best to stay composed. They kept Ofelia safe from the captain and tried to shield her from the ugly events happening in the area.

When the ending unfolds with the captain killing Ofelia and she ends up with her family in the underworld, like she wanted, I am left sad and wondering if the mythology in the story was just Ofelia’s fantasy or was it real? I have decided that the mythology involved with Ofelia was real, for there were events throughout the film that indicate reality. With the disobedience everyone that was against the fascism disobeyed in their own ways; Mercedes and the doctor with the spying and Ofelia with her youthful nature and the stubbornness and hate towards the captain.

The movie in general is fascinating with the well-planned plot, the weaving of the awful reality and the “fantastical” mythology, and the colorful visual effects and the theme of disobedience. Del Toro’s serious dedication pulled off.