by Daniel V. Garcia
Daily Lobo
We all remember the '80s fantasy film "Labyrinth" that featured a young Jennifer Connelly and a mullet-adorned David Bowie as the Goblin King.
After viewing the trailer for "Pan's Labyrinth," I made the mistake of thinking it was a remake because it has been marketed as a fantasy which features a young girl in a labyrinth with a Hoggle-like creature. I couldn't have been more wrong. It's about a young girl in the midst of a war who is offered an escape by a mysterious faun.
Therefore, I've decided to construct a guide that contrasts the two films for those who have made the same mistake.
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Firstly, "Labyrinth" was made for children. It featured state-of-the-art technology and puppet wizardry from director Jim Henson. Despite some disturbing scenes, it was pretty sanitized, with a solid PG rating.
In contrast, "Pan's Labyrinth" is adult-oriented. It is extremely violent and contains strong language, all of which is necessary in order to demonstrate the cruelty of the world. It's set in the post-civil war-era of Franco's Spain, while "Labyrinth" takes place in a contemporary United States.
Secondly, "Labyrinth" was campy. Bowie's heavy eye shadow was probably supposed to look eerie and cool but instead, in combination with his Tina Turner wig, made him look like a poster child for the League of Transvestite Actors. This, combined with song and dance, delivered a fantasy film solidly rooted in the '80s ethos.
"Pan's Labyrinth" is a grave film. Even the most blissful elements of the fantastic are riddled with fear and uncertainty, and its antagonists are frighteningly evil. The extent of this evil is illustrated during one early scene in which an army captain graphically caves a man's face in with repeated strikes from the butt end of a whiskey bottle.
Thirdly, "Labyrinth," for all of its gorgeous puppets and sets, was a formula film. While the film was a well-told coming-of-age story about a girl's responsibility, its themes did not extend much beyond this. In "Pan's Labyrinth," every adventure of the girl is a metaphor suggesting weighty metaphysical importance, while at the same time managing to avoid the pretentiousness of a Richard Linklater film. This is brilliant screenwriting.
Finally, the death of innocence, a common theme in both movies, is dramatically different in both. I've never seen a film capture the universal hope of life after death while fully addressing its problems like "Pan's Labyrinth" does. When the film ended, I was uncertain about the outcome but was filled with a profound joy, nevertheless. "Labyrinth" didn't do that for me. "Pan's Labyrinth" is possibly the most important film I have ever seen. My apologies to David
and Jennifer.
