Whisperling reminded me a lot of Pan’s Labyrinth, albeit with much less horror and violence. Like Pan’s Labyrinth, the faerie world in Whisperling interweaves with the mundane world in ways that leave you questioning what is real and what might be just Quinn’s fanciful imagination. Like Pan’s Labyrinth, Whisperling asks the audience to question the narratives that are presented to us. And of course, they are both about the courage of a young girl.Central to Whisperling is the question of narrative. Whose narrative should one believe? What motivates the creation of these narratives? In one of the most whimsically amusing scenes, an incensed art loving faerie makes Quinn argue with a museum docent about how a piece of art should be interpreted. The theme crops up in more sinister ways too. If a brave, authoritative colonel tells Quinn to be wary of certain creatures and characters, and asks her to help him kill a dragon that is hurting her friends, how much can she trust his word?It turns out Whisperling is also about growing up surrounded by the military and justifications for wars.There isn’t a clear thematic 1:1 between the mundane world and goings on in the faerie world. Ultimately, I felt that it worked because the didacticism of parables isn't always easy to apply to real life. Sometimes life leaves us with only bad options and regrets. I suspect I’ll be reflecting upon Whisperling for a long time to come.