8/28/2023 0 Comments Devils backbone menu![]() ![]() Del Toro's films do not offer us comfort but instead remind us what the Virgin promised Bernadette Soubirous, "I cannot promise you happiness in this world, only in the next." Although the Capitan is defeated in the end, it comes at a price, which results in the death of several characters who are on the side of good, including Ofelia. "Pan's Labyrinth," for example, features great moments of cruelty enacted by the evil Capitan who is the wicked stepfather of the main hero, a young girl named Ofelia. In this way, del Toro's stories resemble fairy tales or the medieval tales of saints, where humble persons encounter great evil and wickedness and are called to embrace goodness and do what's right, even if sometimes it does not result in a "happily ever after." Del Toro once said, "Once a Catholic, always a Catholic," referring to the fact that although he no longer believes, the faith has shaped his worldview and art in ways that are not so easily shed. This is present in Carlos and Jaime's ability to rally the other orphan boys to confront Jacinto. "Devil's Backbone" illustrates that while innocence cannot last forever, one can hold onto goodness, and that we must be willing to fight for it and oppose evil wherever it is present. One can see the Catholicism of his upbringing permeate his films both in the imagery and in the engagement of sin, evil and hope. Santi eventually helps him defeat Jacinto, and the movie ends with the boys leaving the orphanage, which is in ruins, and heading into town, knowing the cruelty of the world can no longer be avoided.ĭel Toro's insistence that he is no longer a believing Catholic stands as a huge contradiction to what is present in his films. Jacinto's cruelty and wickedness dominate the film as his greed and quest for gold compel him to acts of great violence, including murdering a boy named Santi, to recover what he feels the world owes him.Ĭarlos, Jaime and the other boys who are not so corrupted - yet also no longer innocent after witnessing Jacinto's cruelty and violence - must confront him and defeat him if they are to survive.ĭuring all this, Carlos keeps encountering Santi's ghost and initially fears him, but eventually comes to understand him and tries to communicate with him. Casares, who both wish to protect the children.Įventually, he brings the cruelty and violence of the outside world inside the walls of the orphanage and into the boys' lives. As can be predicted Jacinto's desires clash with those of Carmen and Dr. In the courtyard lies a large, inert bomb that reminds them that while there is a war raging outside the orphanage's walls, their safety is not guaranteed inside either. Eventually, he wins over Jaime and the other boys by rescuing Jaime from drowning. We also meet Jacinto, a grown "orphan" who works as the caretaker and is a bitter hardened man who dreams of stealing the gold he knows is hidden somewhere on the grounds of the orphanage.Ĭarlos initially is seen as an outsider and treated as such by the other boys at the orphanage, chiefly by Jaime, the bully of the group. Casares and Carmen, who hide a stash of gold to help the Republican Loyalists battle the fascist forces. His father was killed and he was abandoned by his tutor at an orphanage. The story is told initially from the perspective of a young boy named Carlos. ![]() Like "Pan's Labyrinth," it is set in the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, and like "Pan's Labyrinth," the fantastic elements offer deeper criticisms of fascism, good, evil and the power of imagination.īut unlike del Toro's other works, the fantastical elements in "Devil's Backbone" are more grounded and straightforward. Much like his other films, it resembles a dark fairy tale. ![]() Twenty years later, we can see "Devil's Backbone" was an unusual film, even for a director like Guillermo del Toro. 11, 2001, years before del Toro's Golden Globe, his Hellboy films or even "Pan's Labyrinth," the latter of which was met with critical acclaim, he released " The Devil's Backbone" (" El espinazo del diablo"). Instead, his films like "Hellboy," "Pan's Labyrinth" and "Blade II" illustrate that it is the content of a person's soul or actions that determine their goodness or wickedness, not their appearance. Most of his films do feature monsters, except for "Pacific Rim'' and "Mimic." And most of his films that do include monsters make sure to show it is not their appearance that makes them villainous (assuming they are the villains of the films). That was a strange film, but for those familiar with del Toro's works, it did not seem so strange. I have been saved and absolved by them, because monsters, I believe, are patron saints of our blissful imperfection, and they allow and embody the possibility of failing." These were the words of Guillermo del Toro in 2018, when he won the Golden Globe for his film "The Shape of Water." "Since childhood, I've been faithful to monsters.
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