So I was just looking up the definition for a faun--because before I watched the movie I had never heard of the term--and Wikipedia describes a faun as "place-spirits of untamed woodlands." The creature derives from Roman mythology. It says they have horns and resemble goats below the waist, but resemble humans above.
One difference between this definition of a faun and the one in Pan's Labyrinth was the appearance in Pan's Labyrinth didn't really look like a goat to me. It looked like it had grass growing all over it. And Wikipedia even says that "the faun in this movie is different from most fauns, looking as if it was made of earth and trees rather than just a goat and a man."
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Interesting point, got me thinking about fauns. My mental image of a faun before Pan's Labyrinth was of C.S. Lewis's, Mr. Tumnus, fuan.
ReplyDeletePan, of the Greek mythology, had the appearance of a faun: human torso and head, goat hindquarters and horns. This is probably where classic fauns gleaned their appearance.
The faun from this movie, however, seems more earthy to me. He seems to be more fantastical and less human. There is also an eerie, frightening, almost demonic side to him. This could be fitting, seeing as he is from the subterranean realm. Even though this realm seems Utopian from its short description at the beginning.
The faun in this movie definitely creeped me out a little bit. I kept expecting him to turn evil for some reason. I think it partially had to do with his appearance, and also with the way he interacted with Ofelia. Overall though, I thought his appearance was very appropriate with the fantasy world portrayed in the movie. I think it would be less fitting if they had decided to use the classic image of a half man/half goat faun, like in the Narnia stories.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sara. The faun kind of gave me this creepy feeling. I kept waiting for him to kind screw Ofelia over, especially after Mercedes makes a comment about how her mother taught her not to trust fauns. I definitely prefered Mr Tumnus. The movie was interesting though, and not at all what I expected!
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