My first attempt at a poll - hope it works!

i want to say "maybe" -- but deep down, i'm a believer.

I said "maybe" because I know del Toro is NOT a believer, even though I am.
I think the thrust of the movie was her use of literature to make sense of her senseless world.
Carrie pointed out to me a couple clues that the "fantasy /other" world was in her imagination: the chalk outline still on the door towards the end of the movie (after it had disappeared at the end of that task), the army captain / stepfather guy walking in on her in the labyrinth at the end and what he saw vs what she saw. and also, when she handed the baby over to the faun as he was descending into the well, and then you see (very briefly) the baby just plummet to the bottom of the well and splat... that told me it wasn't real too...
(*ahem*)

I said no although I am a believer as well. I felt that it was explained quite well at the end.

Cher

As the movie ended, I thought the other world was real. Since then, I've seen arguments put forth on both sides of the issue, but there is no conclusive "evidence" either way. I still believe it's "real".

Supposedly, del Toro said that the other world was real, but I haven't seen a direct quote from him on this.

For me, I can't base my judgement of whether the other world exists - with creatures whose eyes reside in their palms, and with shape-shifting miniature flying people - on normal details in this world that aren't necessarily in continuity (e.g., the reference to the chalk door still being visible, or that the Captian could not see what Ofelia saw... I mean, are we to believe that the other world could exist if only those details were somehow more logical in our own terms?). Rather, I'll suspend all of my disbelief, not just to allow me to accept that Ofelia could imagine this other world soooo vividly that she was physiologically terrified of things she saw or thrilled by creatures she met. I won't just stop at accepting that such a degree of belief - on her part, not mine - would be nothing short of raging schizophrenia, which there was no indication she had. No, I'll just accept all of it instead. And accept with it that for the other characters, who could not see what she saw, the details simply don't line up with their real, gritty, and everyday way of explaining things.

In any case, perception is reality. It gave Ofelia purpose. It vindicated her. It brought her justice. It made her smile at her death. How much more real could it possibly get?

T.


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The mandrake and its effects are a little hard to explain if the realm isn't real.

That's all I've got.

I watched this gorgeous film again last night... man, I love it. What a grand, elegant and terrifying tale.

To Brandon's point.... I agree. Another thing I noticed last night was the way Ofelia got out of her locked room to place the mandrake... it was via a chalk door, which Mercedes saw etched on the wall. That means, to me, that there was real magic at work. Else, how did she get out?

And as I re-read what I wrote before:

In any case, perception is reality. It gave Ofelia purpose. It vindicated her. It brought her justice. It made her smile at her death. How much more real could it possibly get?

... I still believe it. I love it when movies make me believe.

I suspended all disbelief when I saw this film. It was excellent.
I agree with you Troy, just because others couldn't see what she was seeing makes it no less real.
It just takes a little faith on the viewers part...

How many times have people seen or heard things that others couldn't see? In this case, in this created world, those things were real.
There are many beautiful things that some people miss because they rush by. The beautiful flower still exists even though the person in a rush hurried by and didn't acknowledge its existence.

I voted maybe/other/in between, because I don't think the other world can be measured by objectivity or fact. It can't be proven either way. It was mythology, not unlike Christian mythology. It gave meaning and hope, exposed evil, advocated love, vindicated unjust suffering, and proclaimed that bodily death does not vanquish the soul. The "truth" of mythology is, to me, so much more powerful than the fact of chalk on a door. That's the same reason it makes no difference to me whether things in the bible happened as they are written or not; that isn't the point. It is a story, a sacred mythology, that gives meaning and hope, exposes evil, advocates love, vindicates unjust suffering, and proclaims that bodily death does not vanquish the soul. It surprises me that del Toro is not religious, because I've seen few films that so accurately captures the absurdity and necessity of faith in a world that gives every reason to abandon it.

How very well written.

I totally believed. I thought it was a wonderful ending . . .after all, what kind of life was there for her in that "real world"? There were all kinds of analogies, already mentioned, but really, I just saw it as the afterlife . ..her spirit living on . . .in a place akin to . . heaven, if you will . . .Of course, I am prone to always see the very best in any situation . . .but some things, you just have to believe in . . whether or not you can see it in front of your very eyes or not or even if it is beyond our little brains to really comprehend. . .you know . . "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen . ." ( I think I got that right! !!!) I LOVED LOVED LOVED this movie . . .even if I couldn't watch the really graphic parts . . .and even if I was screaming all sorts of not so nice things at that monster of a step father.