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Analysis of the Pan’s Labyrinth and 2046
The movie 2046 is written and directed and Wong Kar-Wai. The movie 2046 is an illustration of the writer’s obsession with time and memory that are the main aspects in the film centrally focused on the major theme that is love. The link between these two themes is Chow Mo-wan, the main character in the movie. The film being a sequel of its predecessors, it is a continuation of the love triangles that Chow Mo-wan is entangled in after his loss of Su Li-Zhen. The love scenes are pictured in the futuristic timeframe of 2046 where his neighbors are compared to the fictional heartsick travelers moving through the vast train network to get to 2046, where they can seek love. He intertwines the futuristic 2046 to the real life situations that unfold right before his eyes. In this film, love is depicted as a form of reincarnation. This is illustrated in several scenes that mirror the affair Chow had with Su in the previous sequel. An example illustrating this aspect is the name of the high-end prostitute who lives in room 2046 and eventually falls in love with Chow. She is called Su Li-Zhen. Another similarity is the number 2046, which is the same room number Chow spent his nights with Su during their erotic affair. It acts as a replica of the 1960’s. It creates an ending to the sequel before it, Days of Being Wild. The period between the room 2046 and the futuristic year 2046 depicts the unchanging effects in matters of the heart and the political setting in Hong Kong. Chow relates the character from his apartment to those in his conjured futuristic setting. He displays impeccable memory as he remembers all the residents in the apartment 2046 that have seemingly become his focus and obsession. The movie’s creates a timeline in Chow’s life, linking his past, present and future on a mere four-digit number. The main cinematic technique used in the film is the use of the sound track. The film’s cinematographer, Christopher Doyle uses different musical components in the film to create an ambience or reminiscence in various scenes. Music is used in contradicting cultural backdrops such as an Italian number playing in the background as Bai Ling admires herself in her attire.
Pan’s labyrinth is depicted as a fairy tale, which is set in post-civil war Spain. It is set up in two contradicting worlds that are seemingly impossible to exist simultaneously. The temporal world and the surreal world are created by computer-generated imagery that is employed as the cinematic effect in this film. However, the most used effects in this movie are complex makeup and animatronics. These effects are used to make the imaginary creatures, such as the long stick insect, the fairies and the pale man appear real. The mystical creatures make up the underworld kingdom. The main theme greatly illustrated in this film is the contrasts in rulership between two parallel worlds. In the real world, Vidal, Ofelia’s stepfather, is faced by attacks from rebels where he tortures and kills them without remorse. Such a scenario is illustrated when Vidal tortures one of his captives who is a rebel. He kills an innocent doctor after he administers euthanasia to the tortured prisoner. The captain is seen as the antagonist in this movie. He is capable of harming and shedding blood of an innocent soul as is illustrated when he shoots Ofelia that leads to her eventual death. His character is compared to that of the underworld king who is seen as compassionate and focused on maintaining peace within the realm. The contrast is depicted by the underworld rulership that is against the shedding of innocent blood. In her last task, Ofelia is asked to steal her infant brother and take him into the Labyrinth where she is to sacrifice him. Her refusal to shed innocent blood allows her to enter the Underworld after her demise and rule at the king’s side.