Pan’s Labyrinth – Literature Review
I. Introduction – historical background
The Spanish Civil War lasted from July of 1936 till April of 1939. The intensely ferocious war was between the Republicans and the Fascist nationalists, lead by General Francisco Franco. Victory was in favor of the nationalists and General Franco ruled Spain for the next 36 years after the war, up until his death in 1975. The nationalists were supported by Germany of Nazism and Italy of fascism by soldiers and munitions (Berdah, 304). On the contrary, the republicans were supported by the Soviet Union and Mexico. However, Britain and France agreed on an official policy of no intervention – although France did intervene at some point. By the end of war, any party associated with the republicans was persecuted, and the majority of them escaped to Southern Spain to refugee camps (Yale Press, 5).
II. Outline of Pan’s Labyrinth
Pan’s Labyrinth, also known as El laberinto del fauno in Spanish is a fantasy film produced in 2006 by the Mexican director Guillermo del Toro. From Del Toro’s series of movies over the years, it can be noted that he has the tendency to combine poetic elixir with an imaginative vision, with occasionally a tweak of horror. The film’s main plot is about a little girl, Ofelia, moving in with her stepfather during the upsurge of Fascism. Pan’s Labyrinth is unique such that the film’s storyline is based on a fairytale: it is parable; a simplified story of a greater spiritual or moral