The Element of Time in Spanish Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film

• Main Author: Garcia, Kathryn J.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Digital Commons@Georgia Southern 2015
• Subjects: Spanish; Film; Virtual reality; Cyclical time; Fairy tales; Open Your Eyes; Pan's Labyrinth; Lovers of the Arctic Circle; Arts and Humanities; European Languages and Societies; Film and Media Studies; Spanish Literature; Arctic; Labyrinth
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/seccll/2015/2015/88

Once a year I teach a Hispanic film class and this presentation will be based on three of the most popular films from our class. All three films are Spanish in origin, and while the film are quite different in story and feel, they share the common element in that each deals with time in a unique way. Pan's Labyrinth focuses on linear time (represented by the character of Captain Vida) and cyclical or fairy tale time (revealed by the Faun and the young girl, Ofelia). Open Your Eyes contains virtual time vs. real time and also dream time intertwined in both virtual and real worlds. Lovers of the Arctic Circle examines the relationship of Ana and Otto from childhood, to adolescents to young adults. The film portrays life as a series of coincidences and time as a circle. Each movie is exceptional in its conception of time.