“ATHENAAAA!”

 I was originally going to do this on Trainspotting as it’s one of my favourite films, but since it’s already been done, Pan’s Labyrinth will do just fine.

The Setup -     

Post civil-war, Spain, 1944. Franciso Franco is in power. Ofelia is a day-dreaming young girl with a love of fairy tales. She creates an imaginary world to escape the horrors that dwell within real life. Ofelia travels with her pregnant mother, Carmen, to join her step-father, Captain Vidal, who is the son of a famed commander. He and his troops have been posted in the mountains to root out Marxist guerillas.

Inciting incident -

Ofelia chases a stick insect that has follwed her along her travel to the Vidal’s mountain house and it leads her to a nearby labyrinth. She is stopped by Vidal’s maid, Mercedes, however. At night, the stick insect reappears as a fairy in her room and leads her out to the labyrinth once more. She meets the faun, who believes Ofelia is a princess from the fairy-tales she reads. In order to prove herself, the faun assigns Ofelia three tasks to complete before the full moon. As she hopes that the fauns speculation is true, Ofelia agrees to these tasks, hoping that she truly is the princess.

Act 1 turning point -

Ofelia’s first task is to retrieve a key from the belly of a frog that dwells in a large tree. After succesfully obtaining the key and returning to the post, Ofelia worries bout her mother’s health, concerned about her impending child-birth, and the fact that she has been order to stay in her bed during the pregnancy. The faun rewards Ofelia with a mandrake root, assuring her that it will heal her mother.

Mid-point - 

Ofelia’s second task is to retrieve a dagger from a monster that eats children. Though she is warned not to eat any of the food layed out on the banquet table within his domain for any reason, she cannot help herself and eats several grapes, which then awakens the beast. It eats 2 of her fairy helpers and chases her back to the real world. She places the mandrake root under Carmen’s bed and it instantly begins to heal her mother. The faun appears, and refuses to give Ofelia the third task, infuriated at her earlier negligence, her eating of the grapes. Ofelia is distraught, as her dream has been shattered.

Act 2 turning point -     

Vidal tortures a rebel, then kills the doctor, who euthanised the rebel, rather than heal him as ordered. He discovers Ofelia tending to the mandrake and Carmen rises from her bed and throws it into the fire, killing it. Vidal also discovers that Mercedes is a spy and captures both her and Ofelia, who is then locked in her room. Mercedes frees herself using a concealed knife, then slashes Vidal’s mouth open, before escaping to the forest and the refuge of the rebels.

Act 3 turning point -    

The faun gives Ofelia one final chance to prove herself. He requests that she bring her newborn brother to the labyrinth. Ofelia uses the magic chalk which was given to her for sneaking into the child-eating monster’s lair and sneaks into Vidal’s room. She steals her brother after sedating Vidal and runs to the labyrinth. Vidal chases her blindly, the effects of sedation apparent. At the labyrinth, the faun tells Ofelia that she must spill her brother’s blood to gain entry to the underworld. She refuses to do so and the faun dissapears.Vidal catches up to her, takes the baby, and shoots her. Ofelia falls to the ground, bleeding slowly to death.

Resolution -         

Vidal leaves the labyrinth where the rebels and Mercedes wait for him. He is shot dead without mercy. Ofelia enters a dream-like state, where she meets the king and queen of the underworld, who congratulate her for sacrificing herself, rather than her brother, which was the true proof that she is the princess. She is happy to know she has succeeded, and at the same time she dies in real life.