Because Labyrinth is a spandex-clad masterpiece in its own right
What would it take for me to resurrect my blog – Divine intervention? Pigs Flying? Donald Trump becoming President? Too soon?
Actually, there are 13 Reasons Why…
Tape 1 / Side A – Trump, welcome to your tape (#ifonly)
I kid, I kid. The answer isn’t 13 reasons; it’s one reason: a birthday.
Today is Kai’s birthday. He’s turning 28 and for the past 27 years and 11 months of that time, Kai lived in ignorant bliss of both me and this blog. In the past 4 weeks though, he’s taken quite an interest in Life-In-Colour and for that, and many other things, I’m grateful.
Kai and I share words – books, poetry, speeches – the way other people share Tasty videos on Facebook. This isn’t my first time writing him something. But this is his web-based birthday gift, so I’m trying my hardest to get it right.
(Don’t worry, mom. This doesn’t mean I got you a blog post for Mother’s Day.)
The makings of this blog post began with a text … and Kai’s movie collection which is almost as brilliant as he is.
I referred to the film that won the 79th Academy Award for Best Cinematography as "odd" and now that's my biggest regret in life.
Movie time
Watching Pan’s Labyrinth (2006).
Yes it’s all in Spanish.
No, we don’t know Spanish. Well, I don’t. Kai might?
Yes, we loved it.
For the short version, Guillermo Del Toro writes, produces and directs a fantastical story of a girl who can’t resist grapes in 1940’s Francoist Spain.
For the long version, fasten your seat belt, folks.
At first it seems like this could be a kid’s movie, but then del Toro hits you with blood and cursing and graphic violence and it makes you rethink everything you thought before (at least it did for me). Pan’s Labyrinth tells the story of Ofelia, a bookish 11-year old who longs to escape reality and instead wants to believe that the fairy-tales she reads could be real. And who could blame her? Her new reality is life alongside her bed-ridden pregnant mother and sadistic army captain stepfather.
Ofelia, you should be careful what you wish for because Mr. del Toro is all too happy to oblige. What del Toro conjures up using magical realism is an eerily beautiful fairy-tale blended on top of a dark political history.
“It’s important for little girls to know not every story has to be a love story and for boys to know that soldiers aren’t the only ones to triumph in war.”
At the very beginning of the film, Ofelia and her mother are being relocated to a remote compound at the request of Ofelia's stepfather, Capt. Vidal. The Captain is hellbent on eliminating what remains of Spain's Partisan militia hiding out in the nearby forest and concerned about little to nothing else (other than maybe the birth of his presumed-to-be-son, Ofelia's unborn brother). Left to entertain herself and escape her stepfather's wrath at any cost, Ofelia explores the woods surrounding her new 'rustic' home and discovers an old labyrinth. Lo and behold this labyrinth ends up being a portal to a netherworld - a netherworld that Ofelia may or may not be the alleged long-lost princess of.
Navigating entry into the netherworld requires a guide, of course. Enter a more decrepit version of Narnia’s Mr. Tumnus.
Ofelia’s (and my own) relationship with the Faun:
I had a hard time deciphering whether I thought the Faun character was good or evil. But, then again, maybe its ambiguity is crucial to del Toro’s point. “Monster” seems like a relative term for him.
This Faun (otherwise known as Pan) guides Ofelia through a series of tasks she needs to complete in order to gain passage to the mystical underworld. These tasks and many aspects of the movie overall reward three kinds of thinking: independent, critical, and moral, and which play out in various forms of rebellion throughout the film.
Watching the film, that phrase “well-behaved woman rarely make history” came to mind and part of Pan’s Labyrinth’s coherence is to reject blind allegiance. Whether or not this results in a happy ending, however, is something you’ll have to decide for yourself. Kai and I established our opinions.
But wait, there’s more! Two days after watching the movie, Kai and I visited the Minneapolis Institute of Art’s temporary exhibit on Guillermo del Toro: At Home with Monsters. Featuring displays of over 500 pieces culled from del Toro’s own home, it was a horror-nerd haven. The exhibit intimately showcased, even having copies of del Toro’s own journals and initial movie renderings on display, the creative process behind this utterly brilliant filmmaker. Many themes seen throughout Pan’s Labyrinth were addressed – child vulnerability/innocence, beautiful deaths, monsters.
“‘I believe that children have perfect personalities, and then we ruin it, with our “intelligent decisions” to educate them”
Kai and I even made friends at the exhibit. And by that, I mean the curators had to approach us and ask that we stop getting so close to the artwork. If someone made an exhibit with 500 pieces from my home, well, it’d be like a World Market replica display just with remnants of Murph hair everywhere. Then again, I’m not this guy:
Look VERY closely at this picture. I dare you.
In other news, I can no longer purchase ginger roots at the grocery store without getting creeped out so Happy Birthday, Kai.
