I thoroughly enjoyed this film. The world building between Ofelias reality and her distorted dream world were visually and narratively striking, resulting in a varied crossover of each other.  A scene that stuck out to me the most was the pale man waking up in the Dream world, this character and its time on screen is memorable because of his child-like design, mirroring something only a child’s nightmares could conjure  

In the first 10 minuets we find out that: 

Carmen is a soon- to-be mother 

She has a daughter who is the protagonist  

The daughter loves reading fairytales 

Ofelias (daughter) father died in the Spanish civil war  

Carmen, Ofelia’s mother is married to a Spanish general  

Carmen is seemingly sick from her pregnancy  

We find out that the general does not like Ofelia and treats her unkindly 

In the first scene we can see that a girl is injured, but her blood is flowing in reverse 

A dragon fly is seen following Ofelia from the woods all the way to the mill 

The army have taken up residence in a civilian’s house 

CINEMATOGRAPHY 

In the opening scene of this film, we can see the camera tilting while simultaneously pushing into our subject, who we later find out is Ofelia. The camera repeats its first actions and pushes into Ofelias eye, making an opportunity for a transition into a description of her “Dream world”, where the camera pans around with a wide shot to show off the lengths of Ofelias imagination. The smooth movements of the camera during this scene present a smooth transition into the dream world while Ofelia is unknowingly dying similar to falling asleep into a dream.  

MACRO ELEMENTS- 

EDITING 

The editing that accompanies the narrative of Pans Labyrinth meshes well with the aesthetic of the film. Del Toro uses several different styles for cuts in his scenes, most notably the fade cut/transition. The fade which has been used more than once in Pans Labyrinth strengthens the alternative reality idea that plays a very strong role throughout this film. The use of the fade transition gives the cuts a more whimsical, dream-like atmosphere further inviting the audience into the narrative ideas.  

MISE-EN-SCENE 

The mise-en-scene in Pans Labyrinth utilises its underlying ideas of villainism throughout its narrative. During the dinner scene (40:00) the General and his men and wife are having a dinner on a long dining table, this scene is a clear reflection of the pale man sequence. The feast that the pale man has laid out in front of him as well as the generals subtlety establishes that they are the antagonists of this film without explicitly telling the viewer. The lavish food and drinks during the general’s dinner additionally portrays the fascist army of Spain at the time, their overarching presence of wealth and tyranny over the Spanish people is mirrored in Ofelias imagined world.  

AESTHETICS- 

The world of the labyrinth in the film relies heavily on fantasy ideals, but it still has elements of realism. When the Faries are introduced, they have human like qualities- their silhouettes and specifically when they die, we see their blood and guts, as well as their screams. Del Torro also utilises colour to differentiate between worlds- using industrial blues and greys to represent Vidal and his fascist army, while using golds and oranges to showcase the dreaminess of Ofelias dream world  

The creatures of this film are incredibly original- the director wanted to put an emphasis on not drawing inspiration from any other films to make his creatures. The monsters are partly generated in post-production through CGI and Green screens. Doug Jones played the pale man AND Pan.  

GENDER REPRESENTATION  

In Pans Labyrinth gender is an underlying theme that influences characters throughout the film. When Mercedes and Ofelia try to escape, they are caught by Vidal and his army- then locked up and tortured (Mercedes). When comparing this to the rebel army that commonly goes against Vidal (fully men) its portraits the men as more capable. The majority of men in this film being a part of either an army or resistance group in comparison to the solo females is a clear example of a binary opposite- showing the stereotypes of men holding more dominance over women commonly propped up by 1940s society. The pale man isn’t presented as any particular gender- being naked but presenting no female or male parts- as the pale man could be likened to the evils of the fascist army this decision could represent the right wing of Spain and how these ideals can be held by man or women- E.G “MAN-KIND”  

HISTORICAL CONTEXT.  

The Spanish civil war consisted of left leaning republicans who wanted a modern secular republic, while the opposite side who were right leaning nationalists who wanted to uphold traditional values and the power of the church. The right wing was led by Francisco Franco who was a fascist dictator, ruling over Spain until his death in 1975. Francos’s success of the war also represents the meaning of Ofelias death at the end of the film, showing that ultimately good did not prevail despite the death of Vidal.  

Fascist Spain was supported by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.  

Though Del Torro is Mexican- this is a Spanish film- (FILMED IN SPAIN- MAJORITY SPANISH CAST) Classed as a European production  

Budget: $19 million  

Pans labyrinth won 3 academy awards.