Political Propaganda threw me off

You downgrade Pan's Labyrinth because of perceived political propaganda, yet Triumph of the Will, the ultimate example of political propaganda films, gets a pass because it's such a great film?

Personally, I have no problem with someone giving Triumph of the Will 8/10 because it is a masterfully crafted work. But for that same person to start a thread complaining about this film being propaganda makes no sense from a film criticism standpoint.

Unfortunately, from what I understand, there are certain people who object to Pan's Labyrinth because of its anti-authoritarian theme, and many of those also consider it communist propaganda. Your acceptance of Triumph of the Will and objection to Pan's Labyrinth makes it appear that you are okay with fascist propaganda but not with perceived communist or anti-fascist propaganda. I don't know whether that's true, but that's how you come across.

From my perspective, the film is certainly anti-authoritarian and anti-fascist, but I find the communist aspect to be incidental to the story and a historical happenstance of the time and place where the film takes place. Communist political beliefs aren't even mentioned, and they aren't remotely important to the story, while anti-authoritarianism is central to it.

I don't wish to be insulting, but throughout your writing you use words that are either meaningless in the context in which you use them, or which don't mean what you think they do.

Triumph of the Will" is an HISTORIC film because it is generally regarded as an outstanding & ground-breaking example of documentary film making. It is also an HISTORICAL film because it's an old film & it documents an historical event. To understand the difference I would refer you to this very clear explanation:

http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/historic-versus-historical

The problem with "Triumph of the Will' is it's a great documentary film about a loathsome individual & a loathsome ideology. Not only that, but it doesn't simply record, but actually PROMOTES the agenda of the individual & the ideology. It is clearly & unequivocally a propaganda film. The film quite likely contributed to Hitler's success, a success which led to the deaths of tens of millions of people around the world, as well as the complete destruction of Germany itself.

In contrast, Del Toro's film isn't a propaganda film - it's not even, primarily, a political film. It's a fable, a "fairy tale" set in a historical context, but using archetypes to illuminate universal themes & universal truths. This may seem like a grand claim, but I, as well as many other people, believe that Del Toro accomplished this in an almost unprecedented way.

As far as the specifically political content of the film: terrible things happened on both sides of the Spanish Civil War, but I believe, & I'm sure Del Toro does as well, that the eventual victory of Franco's fascist forces resulted in a long, dark winter in Spain (you know - kind of like in "The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe"). The fact that Soviet Russia's strategy during the war was cynical, self-serving & duplicitous does does not negate the heroism of the many partisan fighters who battled fascism on behalf of the Spanish republic. I would suggest you read George Orwell's fascinating book "Homage to Catalonia" for an insight into the political complexities of the war.