Pan’s Labyrinth 2.0: Time is Key

 Jacquelyn Heinen 

Matt Wisniewski

ENGL 280-01

November 12, 2020

Pan’s Labyrinth: Time is Key

Films specifically in stories like Pan’s Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro have symbolism that are very important to the stories.  Symbolism is often a part of fairytales, but I have never been one to notice symbolism without someone else pointing it out or reeling studying the film.  I noticed that I picked up on the role of clocks in the film Pan’s Labyrinth due to the fact that I had been able to watch this film more than once.  The insight I had by viewing this film multiple times allowed me to realize that clocks were quintessential to Captain Vidal, and the portrayal of him within the film.

Right in the beginning of the film Captain Vidal was looking at his watch as Ofelia was late.  This without showing anything but the pocket watch demonstrates that Captain Vidal is very precise and meticulous.  He shows irritation when they are late, and that is a reflection of his character and how he is as a facist leader.  Later on in the film, with that same pocket watch the Captain learns that when his father died he broke the pocket watch so that the Captain himself would know the exact time of day that his father died at.  Then towards the end of the film when the Captain is faced with his inevitable death, he wants to break the pocket watch so that his son would know the time of his death, as his father did for him.  This was another way Vidal illustrated the importance of order in his life, and his life as a soldier.

Symbolism is very important in films because it can represent a much deeper meaning than what the plain story shows.  The role of clocks in Pan’s Labyrinth was very important to Captain Vidal life.  It showed the viewers how meticulous and strict the Captain was, and how important time for the soldier inside him.

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 13, 2020 at 4:24 PM

    Hi Jacquelyn, you made a nice observation about the clocks and their relation to Captain Vidal. They were a sort of obsession for him, and his pocket watch was attached to his hand in almost every scene. I wonder why Vidal correlates broken clocks with death?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Alex GilesNovember 13, 2020 at 4:54 PM

    Good spot about Vidal's dialog! I totally missed that detail!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Alex GilesNovember 13, 2020 at 8:57 PM

    I'm curious how Vidal rejected the story of his father despite directly following his path. Maybe its some form of outside bias?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Julianne CarterNovember 14, 2020 at 11:34 AM

    Hi Jacquelyn. I liked your blog post and I liked how you talked about symbolism. I also liked how you talked about Vidal's dialog as well.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hunter BardinNovember 15, 2020 at 7:11 PM

    The clock representing his time left is very interesting as he knew that his father broke it at the time of his death, he went a repaired the watch. With it repaired he could do the same as his father. It could also symbolize at that point the movie his time left was ticking away.

    ReplyDelete

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