Spains traumatic history has turned out to be a source of inspiration for many artists. Famous examples are Picassos Guernica and Hemingways stories of Spain. Two creators that more recently have utilized the Spanish Civil War as a theme for their artefacts were the director Guillermo del Toro and author Carlos Ruiz Zafón. In particular, they both opted for the period of time just after the Civil War as the setting for their stories. The remnants of the Spanish Civil War play a clear role in their respective film Pans Labyrinth and book The Shadow of the Wind. Even though the war plays a role in both artefacts, it does so in different ways. A commonality between the two works is that the war is not described directly, in a documentary or true-story format, but it is used indirectly in order to attain another effect. Furthermore, both works also incorporated some mythical and fa
ntasy aspects. In this essay will be explored what the roles of history and mysticism are in the film Pans Labyrinth and the book The Shadow of the Wind.
Pans Labyrinth
The film Pans Labyrinth is set in 944, five years after the end of the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish nationalist movement has taken the upper hand and Franco has been recognized as the official general and dictator of the country. Even though the Civil War is officially over, there are still some rebellious groups operating in the woods of Spain, waging a guerrilla war against the fascist regime. The main character of the film, Ofelia, is placed in the middle of this situation. After Ofelias father passed away, her mother remarried to captain Vidal, a fascist leader who is stationed at a post in the woods. Together with his soldiers, he aims to silence the remaining Republican rebels that are based in these woods.