‘A film is intensified by its aesthetic.’ Discuss this statement in relation to a key sequence from each of the films you have studied. [40] 

Both Del Toro and Meirelles utilize aesthetics in Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) and City of God (2002) in a way that works to tell each respective story visually, through the meticulously thought-out use of camera angles, lighting, colour grading, and set design. What both directors manage to achieve in their usage of these elements lies within their ability to engage a spectator, and ‘intensify’ the film’s mood, storyline or theme. Without thinking of a film’s aesthetic, and how to successfully visualize it, the film is at risk of failing, or even worse, having no ulterior motive, and therefore becomes a pointless, seen-before film.  

Guillermo del Toro is an expert at creating films that are reflective of his auteur trademarks, that being the theme of magic-realism, and dark subject matters. One might argue that due to his professional use of aesthetics in all his films, and how they manage to intensify and drive the story, his films are therefore vastly recognizable to a spectator as having been directed by Del Toro himself.  

Similarly, Fernando Meirelles immerses the spectator in his film City of God (2002) through the use of aesthetics. Not only does this contribute to the verisimilitude of the film, but it also positions the spectator ‘within’ the action of the film, encouraging them to align more specifically with the protagonist of the story, and, as a result, unquestionably intensifying the mood and impact of the film as a whole. 

One scene that comes to mind when considering the impact of aesthetics used by Del Toro in Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), is that of the pale man scene. Taking place in the middle of the film, del toro specifically utilizes colour grading to elicit particular emotions and tones in this scene. Cleverly, the tempting table of food is warmly lit, therefore providing a sense of invitation and desire, aligning with what Ophelia must’ve felt looking at it, as we are. The orange-y red colour grading is conative of happiness and joy, del toro does this to illustrate the deceiving nature of the magic-fantasy world that Ophelia finds herself in. And how, pointed out by the twist in the film’s falling action, appearance isn’t always reflective of something’s reality; a warmly lit, joyous banquet of food is, in fact, a trap. Without the use of colour grading in this scene, the table of food wouldn’t appear as enticing as it did, therefore eliminating any sense of verisimilitude within Ophelia’s mistake of eating some of it, even when warned not to. Instead, the spectator relates to Ophelia’s uncontrollable desire to indulge because they themselves are tempted with the spectacular appearance of the food and would perhaps do the same if in Ophelia’s circumstances. Additionally, the colour grading of this scene defines it as a signpost in the movie, whereas the film takes on a blue-ish, black-ish appearance most of the time, this scene contrasts that and therefore stands out in the eyes of a spectator as being one of the most dangerous situations Ophelia finds herself in in her fantasy world, and maybe hinting towards worse things to come. 

Similarly, Meirelles utilizes aesthetics to intensify the impact of City of God (2002), specifically through the use of visual motifs, throughout the film but most noticeably in the scene of Bennie’s murder. Meirelles uses the recurring symbol of a camera to help drive the plot in a way that is visually engaging and interesting to a spectator. The camera serves many purposes in telling the story of City of God, one being to tell the truth surrounding the violence and injustice of the area of Brazil, and another being living proof of a life not led by violence, but passion to do the right thing. The film also experiments with visual style, sometimes in the shape of using still photography to signpost an event or character, this, connecting with Rocket’s story ark of finding his passion outside of violence with photography, manages to tie many separate stories together and intensifying the impact of the film. In the moments before Bennie’s death, Rocket is gifted a camera from Bennie before he plans to leave the slums of Brazil, because of this, and altercation occurs between Bennie and Lil ‘Ze that gives the opportunity of a discrete gun shot that manages to kill Bennie, all because of a camera. What Meirelles manages to convey through his use a visual motif’s is the concept of cause and effect, how in a world run by violence and competition within the drug scene, even the littlest altercation can have a cumulative effect and lead to a devastating outcome, therefore intensifying how the message behind the movie, being anti-violence, is implicated, and ensuring that this message resonates to a wider audience and is less-likely to be forgotten, or looked-over. 

Although both films manage to use aesthetics to their advantage in driving the plot of a film and encouraging an ulterior message hidden behind the elements of what make up a ‘good movie’, I believe that Del Toro uses aesthetics and tonal elements, such as pathos, in Pan’s Labyrinth in a way that is incomparable to many, or any, film I’ve analyses before. How Meirelles uses aesthetics is extremely effective in interesting and immersing a spectator in the world and environment of Brazil, although Del Toro manages to not only communicate different emotions within the movie, but also using the visual ‘look’ of the film to define itself, deservingly, into the theme of magic-realism, and therefore inserting itself on the highly admirable discovery of Del Toro and his auteur-worthy films. 

Technological – The editing in City of God allowed Daniel Rezende, the editor, to experiment and try out new ideas, it is responsible for the development and interpretations of the characters.

Historical – Brazil was colonised by Portugal in the 16th century resulting in almost genocidal subjection of the indigenous people. They struggled for independence, which was then gained in the 19th century.

Social – Brazil is part of the ‘developing world’ and is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. An estimated 26.5% of the population live in absolute poverty.

Political – City of God brings to light the key problem of the fight against inequalities and social exclusion in impoverished popular communities.

Institutional – City of God is based on a book by Paulo Lins who grew up in the City of God. The film is described as being made by Brazilians for a Brazilian audience and deals with a Brazilian reality. It was funded by TV Globo and distributed by Miramax internationally

Tone

City of God is a very tense film with a lot of moments of stress, sadness and anger. The war begins towards the end of the film, meaning the tension building up from the start makes the film feel like you are waiting for something bad to happen throughout, until it actually does. This can be seen through the use of the handheld shots which enhance the stress, and also the fast pace of the film.

Visual Style

The slums in the City of God are represented in a dark, dirty and gloomy manner in order to show the distressing events that occur in the slums. In Benny’s leaving party scene, the ominous atmosphere and mood that something bad (Benny’s death) is created by flashing coloured lights, the cinematography and the camera movements, all creating a messy-crazy vibe before the death.

Realism

City of God is a very realist film as it is based on a true story and it focuses on depicting the lives of those who experience the life of living in the slums, dealing with issues such as poverty, war, drugs, assaults etc. The documentary style of the film allows us as the audience to feel more involved as it creates a sense of verisimilitude for the audience.

Men

Men in City Of God such as Lil Ze and Carrot are represented as powerful and more unhinged characters, who are socially higher in status than the rest of the cast because of their jobs and the power they have because of it. Other men, such as Knock-out Ned and Rocket are represented as characters who instead of being evil throughout, become evil because of their survival tactics and so they are forced to become involved through revenge and survival rather than self-willing.

Women

The women in City Of God are treated disrespectfully by men, primarily by the bad characters rather than the nicer characters such as Rocket. Rocket treats women with respect, shown through his love for Angelica. Though this showcases others characters violence towards the women like Angelica in the film, like when Benny gets shot and Lil Ze shouts and blames Angelica (Benny’s girlfriend). Towards the end, the newspaper editor that Rocket sleeps with, uses her power from her job in order to use Rocket for his photographs of the slums, which no one else had managed to capture.

Technological – Pan’s Labyrinth uses animatronics and green screen work and its effective creation of a magical-realist production design.

Historical – Pan’s Labyrinth is set in 1944, five years after the end of the Spanish civil war. However, the inspiration for the film was the 11th September 2001 terrorist attack on America.

Social – Del Toro uses representation of social groups, and religion in Pan’s Labyrinth in order to show the social contexts of Pan’s Labyrinth.

Political – Pan’s Labyrinth is set in Spain in the context of the Spanish Civil War under the authoritarian rule of Francisco Franco. Another political representation is that of the guerrillas who are presented as resourceful, determined and egalitarian.

Institutional – Pan’s Labyrinth was released in the UK by Optimum. It premiered at Cannes film festival in May 2006. It was co-produced by a number of Spanish, Mexican and American production companies the $19 million budget is reflected in the complex production design, period dressing and large cast. The eventual worldwide box office of $83.3 million was seen as a triumph.