“The Devil’s Backbone” involves a young boy named Carlos whose father has died in the Spanish Civil War. A man named Ayala drives him to an orphanage, where he deserts Carlos due to his desire to go into dangerous territory to help the war effort. Dr. Casares, the assistant administrator of the orphanage, befriends Carlos due to his sympathizing with the boy’s situation. Once he becomes settled, Carlos begins to see the ghost of a young boy named Santi who once lived at the orphanage.
Carlos, frightened, continually runs away from the ghost.
Meanwhile, Jacinto, a former orphan who now works at the orphanage, continually plots to steal gold that is thought to be contained in a safe in the kitchen of the orphanage. As the war escalates and tensions run high, Jacinto lights gasoline on fire in an attempt to clear the orphanage out and obtain entry into the safe to acquire the gold. Dr. Casares is heavily injured and several children are killed in the blast, but the remaining orphans realize that the only way to stop Jacinto is to fight. During this time, Carlos speaks to Santi rather than running away from him, and a revelation occurs. Jacinto is shown to have murdered Santi due to Santi witnessing him attempting to break into the safe. Santi expresses a desire to kill Jacinto to Carlos. Dr. Casares eventually dies from his wounds, but when Jacinto returns to the orphanage, the remaining orphans repeatedly stab him with blunt sticks and he is thrown into the pool where he disposed of Santi’s body, and the ghost of Santi drags him to the bottom, where he dies.
“Pan’s Labyrinth” begins by showing a young girl named Ofelia lying on the ground, injured. It is then explained that Princess Moanna of the Underground Realm (believed to be Ofelia) once ventured to the outside world and eventually died. The story then cuts to the present, and Ofelia is at a Spanish military post during the period right after the Spanish Civil War. Her father is deceased, and her mother has since remarried. Her new husband, Captain Vidal, is a tyrannical leader who is seeking out rebels and exterminating them for the new fascist regime.
Meanwhile, Jacinto, a former orphan who now works at the orphanage, continually plots to steal gold that is thought to be contained in a safe in the kitchen of the orphanage. As the war escalates and tensions run high, Jacinto lights gasoline on fire in an attempt to clear the orphanage out and obtain entry into the safe to acquire the gold. Dr. Casares is heavily injured and several children are killed in the blast, but the remaining orphans realize that the only way to stop Jacinto is to fight. During this time, Carlos speaks to Santi rather than running away from him, and a revelation occurs. Jacinto is shown to have murdered Santi due to Santi witnessing him attempting to break into the safe. Santi expresses a desire to kill Jacinto to Carlos. Dr. Casares eventually dies from his wounds, but when Jacinto returns to the orphanage, the remaining orphans repeatedly stab him with blunt sticks and he is thrown into the pool where he disposed of Santi’s body, and the ghost of Santi drags him to the bottom, where he dies.
“Pan’s Labyrinth” begins by showing a young girl named Ofelia lying on the ground, injured. It is then explained that Princess Moanna of the Underground Realm (believed to be Ofelia) once ventured to the outside world and eventually died. The story then cuts to the present, and Ofelia is at a Spanish military post during the period right after the Spanish Civil War. Her father is deceased, and her mother has since remarried. Her new husband, Captain Vidal, is a tyrannical leader who is seeking out rebels and exterminating them for the new fascist regime.
A small fairy appears to Ofelia and leads her into a strange labyrinth near the post, where she encounters a faun who claims that she is Princess Moanna. The faun then gives Ofelia three missions to accomplish before she can return to the Underground Realm. These tasks vary widely, from retrieving a key from the belly of a giant toad to obtaining a dagger from a baby-eating monster.
Meanwhile, Ofelia’s mother, Captain Vidal’s wife, is pregnant and becoming very ill.
Captain Vidal’s housekeeper, Mercedes, and the local doctor are shown to be aiding the rebels with food and medicine. Vidal eventually discovers that Mercedes and the doctor are conspiring against him and he kills the doctor and captures Mercedes as she attempts to escape. Ofelia’s mother dies during childbirth but gives birth to a son. Ofelia kidnaps her brother from Captain Vidal and ventures into the labyrinth, as Captain Vidal gives chase. The faun then appears and informs Ofelia that she can only gain entry into the Underground Realm by spilling the blood of an innocent, in this case her brother. Despite this warning, she refuses to allow her brother to be harmed and is fatally shot by Captain Vidal. Captain Vidal then exits the labyrinth, baby in hand, and is promptly killed by the rebels. It is then revealed that the true final task that Ofelia had to complete was refusing to allow her brother to be harmed, which gave her entry into the Underground Realm and allowed her to once again take her proper place as Princess.
The similarities between “The Devil’s Backbone” and “Pan’s Labyrinth” are inherent. The setting for both is in the early-to-mid 1940s, during the time of the Spanish Civil War and subsequent dictatorship that exists in the country. In each film, the protagonist is a young child who either starts with or eventually has no living parents over the course of the story. The totalitarian rule in Spain during the time period also plays a major role throughout both films, as does the underlying factor of the ongoing war. There are consistent themes of child abuse and oppression throughout both films. In both films, a group of innocents are driven to rise up against some sort of ruthless authority figure and to overcome a series of obstacles in order to accomplish the goal of total freedom.
While “The Devil’s Backbone” and “Pan’s Labyrinth” follow a parallel path in many aspects, there are also large factors surrounding the films which cause them to deviate greatly. The budget for “The Devil’s Backbone” was a relatively paltry 4.5 million dollars, and it only grossed a total of just over $750,000. Thus, the film was never given a wide release, and was only released on a limited basis in selected cities around the world. The marketing of the film was also very slight due to the inadequate nature of the budget, and caused the film to make significantly less money than would have been possible given greater funding.
Captain Vidal’s housekeeper, Mercedes, and the local doctor are shown to be aiding the rebels with food and medicine. Vidal eventually discovers that Mercedes and the doctor are conspiring against him and he kills the doctor and captures Mercedes as she attempts to escape. Ofelia’s mother dies during childbirth but gives birth to a son. Ofelia kidnaps her brother from Captain Vidal and ventures into the labyrinth, as Captain Vidal gives chase. The faun then appears and informs Ofelia that she can only gain entry into the Underground Realm by spilling the blood of an innocent, in this case her brother. Despite this warning, she refuses to allow her brother to be harmed and is fatally shot by Captain Vidal. Captain Vidal then exits the labyrinth, baby in hand, and is promptly killed by the rebels. It is then revealed that the true final task that Ofelia had to complete was refusing to allow her brother to be harmed, which gave her entry into the Underground Realm and allowed her to once again take her proper place as Princess.
The similarities between “The Devil’s Backbone” and “Pan’s Labyrinth” are inherent. The setting for both is in the early-to-mid 1940s, during the time of the Spanish Civil War and subsequent dictatorship that exists in the country. In each film, the protagonist is a young child who either starts with or eventually has no living parents over the course of the story. The totalitarian rule in Spain during the time period also plays a major role throughout both films, as does the underlying factor of the ongoing war. There are consistent themes of child abuse and oppression throughout both films. In both films, a group of innocents are driven to rise up against some sort of ruthless authority figure and to overcome a series of obstacles in order to accomplish the goal of total freedom.
While “The Devil’s Backbone” and “Pan’s Labyrinth” follow a parallel path in many aspects, there are also large factors surrounding the films which cause them to deviate greatly. The budget for “The Devil’s Backbone” was a relatively paltry 4.5 million dollars, and it only grossed a total of just over $750,000. Thus, the film was never given a wide release, and was only released on a limited basis in selected cities around the world. The marketing of the film was also very slight due to the inadequate nature of the budget, and caused the film to make significantly less money than would have been possible given greater funding.
This was all due to the film being financed independently, as a major film studio could’ve provided enough cash to propel the movie to the outer limits of what could have been achieved on a financial level. The general lack of money also caused the film’s sets to be unable to achieve the grandiose of those in “Pan’s Labyrinth,” which caused the movie to develop a more amateur sort of tone. This further contributed to the film’s lack of success at the box office.
“Pan’s Labyrinth” had a comparatively large budget of 19 million dollars and managed to gross a staggering $83 million at the worldwide box office. This was highly due to the marketing of the film, which was only possible through the larger budget it was given. This budget was attained through the funding of a film company, Esperanto Films, which operates out of Mexico. The wide release the film was given also caused a jump in the film’s gross, as it ran in more theatres for a longer period of time than “The Devil’s Backbone” was able to. “Pan’s Labyrinth” also has substantially superior sets and lighting due to the increased budget of the film. All of these things allowed the movie to far exceed both “The Devil’s Backbone” and the relatively modest expectations that any non-English movie is given upon release.
The general monetary difference between the two films causes them to be viewed in different lights by any avid movie-goer. “Pan’s Labyrinth” is the quintessential globalized national film, with the more viewer-accepted fantasy theme attached to the Spanish Civil War setting rather than the horror aspect that “The Devil’s Backbone” utilizes. This probably contributed to the ability of the film to gain funding from a production studio, as they knew that the fantasy portion of the film would cause more people to see the movie than would see a horror movie. As stated on NYTimes.com, “Pan’s Labyrinth is swift and accessible entertainment” (Scott 1). The increased budget also lends to the globalized makeup of the film.
On the other hand, “The Devil’s Backbone” is definitely a strictly national film, as it was independently funded and was never given a wide release. However, the film gained critical acclaim and many awards around the world through film festival appearances. This gives a level of glory to Mexican film that isn’t as easily attained through a film that is released commercially and pushed hard from a marketing standpoint. This lends itself to the nationality of the movie, as Mexican viewers can take pride in the movie as strictly their own.
Though “The Devil’s Backbone” and “Pan’s Labyrinth” share a common director and theme, the differences between the movies are vast.
“Pan’s Labyrinth” had a comparatively large budget of 19 million dollars and managed to gross a staggering $83 million at the worldwide box office. This was highly due to the marketing of the film, which was only possible through the larger budget it was given. This budget was attained through the funding of a film company, Esperanto Films, which operates out of Mexico. The wide release the film was given also caused a jump in the film’s gross, as it ran in more theatres for a longer period of time than “The Devil’s Backbone” was able to. “Pan’s Labyrinth” also has substantially superior sets and lighting due to the increased budget of the film. All of these things allowed the movie to far exceed both “The Devil’s Backbone” and the relatively modest expectations that any non-English movie is given upon release.
The general monetary difference between the two films causes them to be viewed in different lights by any avid movie-goer. “Pan’s Labyrinth” is the quintessential globalized national film, with the more viewer-accepted fantasy theme attached to the Spanish Civil War setting rather than the horror aspect that “The Devil’s Backbone” utilizes. This probably contributed to the ability of the film to gain funding from a production studio, as they knew that the fantasy portion of the film would cause more people to see the movie than would see a horror movie. As stated on NYTimes.com, “Pan’s Labyrinth is swift and accessible entertainment” (Scott 1). The increased budget also lends to the globalized makeup of the film.
On the other hand, “The Devil’s Backbone” is definitely a strictly national film, as it was independently funded and was never given a wide release. However, the film gained critical acclaim and many awards around the world through film festival appearances. This gives a level of glory to Mexican film that isn’t as easily attained through a film that is released commercially and pushed hard from a marketing standpoint. This lends itself to the nationality of the movie, as Mexican viewers can take pride in the movie as strictly their own.
Though “The Devil’s Backbone” and “Pan’s Labyrinth” share a common director and theme, the differences between the movies are vast.
The two films are inherently parallel in some aspects, but the massive difference in production value between the films causes them to deviate in many ways. Through this budget difference, “Pan’s Labyrinth” was able to outgross “The Devil’s Backbone” by over $82 million. This difference, despite the similar nature of the acting and directing in the movies, shows just how important commercialization is in cinema today. The truth is, with movies, it really is all about the money.
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