Pan's Labyrinth(2006)
dir. Guillermo del Toro
A girl's fairy tale against Franco's soldiers.
Where to watch: Rent $5.99 / buy $14.99 on Amazon; no subscription streaming listed (JustWatch US)Letterboxd ↗
Spain, 1944. Ofelia moves with her pregnant mother to a military outpost run by her stepfather, Captain Vidal, a Francoist officer hunting the last rebels in the hills. She finds a labyrinth and a faun who gives her three tasks to prove she's a lost princess. Del Toro cuts between her fairy tale and the real cruelty around her, and the real one is worse.
Why it’s here
The film sets a child's imagination against fascism and shows imagination winning something that matters. What's punk is Ofelia's disobedience, which is the whole plot. What's pedagogical is how clearly it shows the cruelty of an obedient man. It's violent and not for young kids despite the fairy-tale look. Pairs with The Tin Drum and the fascism bundle.
Where This Film Lives
Read Alongside
Books that share a topic, theme, or setting with this film.
Salt to the Sea
Ruta Sepetys
Four teens, one ship, history's deadliest sinking.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Amal Unbound
Aisha Saeed
The debt wasn't hers. The cage is.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Amina's Voice
Hena Khan
A shy girl sings out after her mosque is attacked.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Anil's Ghost
Michael Ondaatje
A forensic anthropologist in Sri Lanka tries to name the disappeared.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World
Anne Applebaum
The network behind every strongman.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909
Michelle Markel
One girl stood up. Twenty thousand followed.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice
Phillip Hoose
She refused first. History forgot her anyway.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST
Combating Cult Mind Control
Steven Hassan
The BITE model. How coercive control works. In any group.
✦ READ – REFLECT → RESIST