Pan's Labyrinth is a fairytale-genre film that uses the unique device of contrasting
the harsh realities of a fascist Spain with a child's innocent imagination.
Through the cinematic clash of adult cruelty and a child's innocence, the film powerfully
brings to light the human rights abuses of fascism as seen through the eyes of a young
girl named Ofelia.
Under the dictatorship of Spanish general Francisco Franco, the authority figure of
the captain becomes drunk with power and begins to oppress the lower classes, brutal punishment
being his only answer to Spain's problems, similar to that of the brutality of the Nazi party.
In this scene, he directly announces that the resistance is beneath them, and that his
goal is to eliminate them at any cost, in the presence of the church and other officials.
A spy to the resistance, Mercedes is able to work alongside the captain without being
suspected, due to her being a woman, considered a lower member of society, therefore making
it easier for her to work so closely to the captain and spy on their war tactics.
In the aftermath of the Spanish civil war resulting in the Franco regime, many were
unlawfully murdered and tortured.
Here we are able to view an example of the ruthlessness of the captain in violating the
dignity and rights of a man who cannot speak, due to a speech impediment, a violation that
is prevalent around the world today, where oppressing of civilians for unjust reasons is
the norm.
In this scene, the doctor points out how destructive just following orders can be when one's values
and principles are set aside.
Although fictional, Ofelia's story is reminiscent of the death of the many children killed by
the human rights abuses of totalitarian dictatorships, for example Anne Frank in Nazi Germany.
Such children must grapple with realities that are way too horrible for most adults
to endure, similar to that of what we see today in countries like Syria and North Korea.
In order to survive, Ofelia's imagination begins to mix more and more with the horrible
reality she is forced to live in, although her spirit never breaks.
When she dies, she is finally emancipated from the oppression of the adult world, into
her own universe, freed from the atrocities and cruelty of adults by her own innocence
and imagination.