Poll: Pan's Labyrinth

[Chaos Bringer]

This question has come up in my class and I was wondering what my fellow Escapists thought. Do you think that the movie is in Ofelia's imagination or do you think it's really happening? There are lots of arguments for both sides. State your position.

(You have to have seent his or really know what happens to answer this).

THIS IS THE CORRECT POSTING! PLEASE ANSWER THIS ONE INSTEAD OF THE OTHER ONE THAT DIDN"T WORK RIGHT!!! THANK YOU!

 

[BlueberryMUNCH]

'seent his'

Maha ^_^ typooo.

DAAAMN, you know, I really wanna see that goddamn film again...it's so good><.

And I can't really remember it. What I think is important though is to not really think about if it's real or not...it adds to the wonder of it all:']. And at the end of the day...define real, eh?

So...hmm...I'll abstain. Definite food for thought though. And there goes 2 hours of my Wednesday evening.

 

[JSkunk22]

I'm pretty sure all the -strange and fantastical- things that happened to her were all in her head. Everything else involving her mother and the military? Yeah, that was happening for real.

 

[Hosker]

It's hard to say. I would say imagination. but there are about 2 or 3 points on the film that make me believe otherwise. Such as near the end, in the maze, and the wall opened for her. It's been a while since I've watched it though.

 

[Blue_vision]

Hm, I've never actually thought of this. In context of the movie, there isn't really anything that could imply to me that it's in her imagination.

But overall, the theme and message of the movie seems like it'd be in her imagination, so I said it as that. Not that she's imagining things, but the whole movie is a kind of make believe (in terms of imagination, not just that it has fantastical elements.)

 

[CK76]

That is quite interesting to me. It makes the ending either heartbreakingly tragic or bittersweet. I think I wanted it to be real, even if for her because I liked the character so much.

 

[Fwee]

I think it was made the way it was to make people have this kind of discussion. Ask the writer or the director what they think. Personally I don't care because that dumb little girl ate a grape. Idiot...

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

It is my favorite movie of all time, btw. I think it is just her imagination, a way to cope with her horrific situation. It makes the ending that much more tragic for me.

 

[M Rotter]

i think the ambiguity is what makes the ending so tragic. Not whether or not it was was real, but whether or not SHE thought it was.

 

[Droppa Deuce]

If it was her imagination, then she has some serious issues.

The fairies - cool. Kids dig fairies.
The big toad in the tree - sweet, the kins of thing kids would conjure up.
The child eating, blind demon who lives in the wall - WTF?

It's real!

 

[Lyri]

I just watched this again today, a few hours ago in fact and I totally loved it as much as the last time.

My thoughts is that it was real for her, it was her coping mechanism to deal with the situation. She was in a place she did not want to be, told to call another man father who was not hers and her mother was sick and she could do nothing about it.
She was a trapped and frightened little girl that found wonderlust and escapism within the words of her fairy tales and thus lead to the events in pans.

It's a wonderful film, I truly adore it.

 

[Hollock]

wait didn't she use the chalk to actually break into her step-dad's room? That means it must be real! (even though I clicked imaginary and thats what I've thought since the second time I've watched it)
sidenote: I've tried to get 3 different people to watch this movie and they wouldn't because of the subtitles.

 

[Makhiel]

Imagination, which is why I don't like the movie. It went from "adventures in a fancy other world" to "a deranged girl who gets shot and dies". Visually stunning (just like Lovely Bones) but (just like Lovely Bones) the ending makes me kinda regret seeing it because everything was in vain.

 

[Zaleznikel]

It's magical realism, it's neither "real" nor imagined

It's one of my favorite genres, stories that take place in a world very similar to our reality, but have these fantastical elements. It's neither real by our standards, nor her imagination. It's real within its own world and cannot be judged by our reality, you have to just accept it.

Also, if you want more Magical Realism, I recommend short stories by Julio Cortázar (La noche boca arriba is my favorite, The Night Face Up), and the novel "Like Water for Chocolate", by Laura Esquivel.