[…] Ofelia nears the edge ...read more […]

The only change I can see is that instead of the Faun originally emerging from the shadows, it was kind of hiding in plain sight, mistaken for one of the trees surrounding the monolith. Otherwise the written description matches pretty much exactly what's on screen, although I may be reading into it having seen the movie itself many times before reading the script. But 'clumsy yet oddly gracious' is exactly how I would describe the Faun's bow. Other than that description, though, there's nothing on the page more specifically about the Faun's movements and mannerisms, so the credit for how distinctive and otherworldly those are has to go to Doug Jones and Del Toro's individual brainstorming with the actor. This is a great interview with Jones about the process of playing both the Faun and later the Pale Man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT5Y6QJ-TwI

John, the way the Faun emerges into view is, as you say, just about the only thing even slightly different than the script. We often see this in scripts written by directors as they see so clearly what they have in mind and express that - if they're good writers like Del Toro! - on the page. Thanks for that link, too. Good stuff! Such a wonderful movie, classic Hero's Journey. Joseph Campbell would have loved it, I'm sure, infused with a mythological spirit.

The match between script and screen was very conspicuous, especially after completing a similar exercise with the script for "Prisoners" with Hugh Jackman. A lot of it is intact, a testament to Aaron Guzikowski's vivid and compelling writing, but still there are changes big and small in just about every scene. Pan's Labyrinth is one of my top three favorite movies. Part of what makes it so rich is the classic Hero's journey, but there's also the ambiguity of whether the fantasy world actually exists or is the projection of a frightened little girl encountering real world horrors she cannot otherwise process. Also, it's interesting that the script was originally in English, whereas the dialogue was all in Spanish in the movie. That must have made for an interesting back and forth between the mostly Spanish cast and Del Toro, who is bilingual.

Seeing as PL is one of your favorite movies, that must have been at work in my unconscious mind to select it for the post today! If you liked Prisoners - who wouldn't! - you'll like this: I interviewed Aaron Guzikowski and will be running that as a blog series sometime in February aligned with the launch of Aaron's new Sundance Channel series Red Road which debuts on Feb. 27.

There are a few more differences here than the appearance of the faun. The setting in the script is a rotunda with a pool. The pool has two monoliths, one at the edge, one in the center. The film has Ofelia descending into an empty well with a spiral staircase. There she finds a single monolith in the center of a stylized labyrinth. Finally, the pool provides the echoes in the script, but the enclosed well does in the film. This increases the feel of Ofelia going deeper into the central mystery of her origin. In the script, the faun places the book and bag on the ground while backing away. In the film, the faun hands both to Ofelia. This ties them together more closely.

Actually, the pool in the script is empty. But that description makes me think it's a shallow space. The film lends itself to that by starting the camera at a normal angle so what I called a well could be seen as a shallow empty pool. But as she steps in and down, the camera lifts up to reveal how deep this pool is. So these are still changes to emphasize how deeply Ofelia is going into the mystery.

The moment the car carrying Ofelia and her mother stops in the Forrest...you know you're going into a classic fairytale. I love this movie have watched it several times, because it takes all the fairy tales tropes and employs them brilliantly in a political story. Great, great writing.