Mixing Fantasy and History in El Laberinto del Fuano
“El Laberinto del Fuano” is a film by Guillermo Del Toro that combines fantasy with reality. Set in post-civil war Spain, the film follows the story of Ofelia, a young girl obsessed with fairy stories, who is told by a faun that she is in reality the Princess Moana of the underworld, and must complete three tasks in order to return to her kingdom. The use of fantasy in the film does not trivialise the historical standpoint, but rather emphasises it by representing recognisable figures during the war as fantastical creatures, as well as through the increasing violence of the film. Arguably, the use of fantasy does overshadow the historical standpoint in the final scene by portraying new hope and erasing the nationalist presence; whereas in reality, Spain would continue to be marked by the Nationalist regime for many years to come.
To begin with, the fantastical characters increasingly appear to reflect actors in the civil war. For example, Ofelia’s first task seems to be a metaphor for life in Spain at the time. In this task, she must kill an enormous toad that is sucking the life out of a fig tree:
Figure 1
The distinctive split down the tree’s …show more content…
By representing the various institutions- such as the church and masculinity- through the fantastical creatures, and by highlighting the violence present in the lives of the Spanish, del Toro enables the audience to better identify with the realities of post-civil war Spain. The happy ending of Ofelia’s rebirth, and Vidal’s death can be seen to overshadow the historical standpoint, and thus trivialise it to an extent, as it does not reflect the hold the Nationalists held over Spain for many
“El Laberinto del Fuano” is a film by Guillermo Del Toro that combines fantasy with reality. Set in post-civil war Spain, the film follows the story of Ofelia, a young girl obsessed with fairy stories, who is told by a faun that she is in reality the Princess Moana of the underworld, and must complete three tasks in order to return to her kingdom. The use of fantasy in the film does not trivialise the historical standpoint, but rather emphasises it by representing recognisable figures during the war as fantastical creatures, as well as through the increasing violence of the film. Arguably, the use of fantasy does overshadow the historical standpoint in the final scene by portraying new hope and erasing the nationalist presence; whereas in reality, Spain would continue to be marked by the Nationalist regime for many years to come.
To begin with, the fantastical characters increasingly appear to reflect actors in the civil war. For example, Ofelia’s first task seems to be a metaphor for life in Spain at the time. In this task, she must kill an enormous toad that is sucking the life out of a fig tree:
Figure 1
The distinctive split down the tree’s …show more content…
By representing the various institutions- such as the church and masculinity- through the fantastical creatures, and by highlighting the violence present in the lives of the Spanish, del Toro enables the audience to better identify with the realities of post-civil war Spain. The happy ending of Ofelia’s rebirth, and Vidal’s death can be seen to overshadow the historical standpoint, and thus trivialise it to an extent, as it does not reflect the hold the Nationalists held over Spain for many