Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
Dir. Guillermo de Toro
7/10 – I enjoyed Pan’s Labyrinth a lot, both the fantasy aspect as well as the historical/real parts. I also quite liked the fact that it was in Spanish; it gave the film a very different overall feel and I do not think it would have quite the same impact if it was in English.
My most memorable scene was when Mercedes stands up against Captain Vidal because Mercedes is one of my favourite characters and it was extremely satisfying to see someone finally push back against the character that we come to hate.
- 10 things that the viewer knows in the 1st 10 mins.
- A young girl dies
- Set in 1944 after the (Spanish) Civil War
- Set in Spain
- Ofelia is obsessed with reading fantasy books
- The story of a princess in a fantasy book
- Ofelia’s mother is heavily pregnant
- The Captain is not Ofelia’s father
- The Captain and Ofelia have a strained relationship
- The captain hates the fact that Ofelia reads fantasy books
- There is a labyrinth outside the mill
- Cinematic breakdown of the 1st 3 mins.
The camera uses a push in and tilt movement to create a transition through Ofelia’s eye, which comes to show the fantasy world that we are being introduced to. The camera is constantly moving, panning across the wide landscape to show off the underworld, before tilting up to the post-Civil War Spain setting. The only notable cuts used are within the seamless transitions.
Micro-elements:
- Sound
The Sound Design of the effects that accompany the violence is very realistic. This is most likely enhanced in post-production by Foley artists. As parts of this film fit a horror genre this adds to the horror and emotional impact of those violent actions on the viewer. There is also a music motif in the Lullaby that is sung to Ofelia. It can be diegetic when sung by an on-screen characters (the mother or Mercedes) but it becomes the theme tune for the film taking on a number of different musical forms (orchestral) adding to the suspense in places or the emotional state of Ofelia (rather like the ‘Time Goes By’ tune is manipulated in ‘Casablanca’.)
- Cinematography
Cinematography used to suggest the nature of the Captain’s character when we first meet him; the first ever shot of him being that of his watch to suggest his punctual and military like attitudes. It is also almost used to foreshadow the motif of the watch that is prevalent in Pan’s Labyrinth; Captain Vidal thinks that he needs to continue the tradition of breaking the watch upon death, and to give it to their son.
Scenes of the underworld are predominantly extra long shots, not only to be able to display a significant amount of it, but also to give it this feeling of it being never-ending. Furthermore, dissolves and wipes are frequently used during these scenes, such as in the beginning when the camera pushes into Ofelia’s eye to come out into the underworld, and then a couple of minutes later when the camera was following the princess into the ‘regular’ world.
- Mise-en-scene
The mise-en-scene of Pan’s Labyrinth features many creatures that were produced through animatronics and models, as del Toro reportedly prefers this style over CGI. The use of makeup for the Pale Man creates a horrifying creature, which the audience is already impartial to thanks to it eating two of the fairies that the Faun gives to Ofelia. Furthermore, mise-en-scene is used to suggest things that aren’t explicitly said, like the paintings in the Pale Man’s lair, as well as the large pile of shoes, which are particularly reminiscent of that of the display of victims’ shoes at Auschwitz (a reference to a fascist regime that could be reflecting the Nazis).
- Editing
Editing used in Pan’s Labyrinth is typically quite conventional throughout the majority of the film, however, there are some unique styles displayed in the fantasy sections of the film. For example, there is lots of wipes like in the beginning, where black was coming from the left of the screen and then revealing something from the right. Furthermore, there are a few notable fades to whites and blacks, such as when the camera tilts up towards the ‘real world’ during the introductory narration, which fades to white to contrast the darkness of the underworld.
Representation (Gender)
How are men and women represented differently and how does this position the viewer?
Men in Pan’s Labyrinth are frequently displayed as military figures, the male characters almost exclusively being soldiers etc. These characters’ attitudes are often a reflection of their occupation, with Captain Vidal, for example, being a strong, patriarchal figure who doesn’t have time to even indulge his wife other than to discuss the baby (who he is insistent is a boy). Despite this, there is the occasional male character that is represented in a far more positive light, like the doctor, who we later find out is part of the left-wing resistance. This suggests how the men in this film reflect their political values; the Captain is seen as a beast and doesn’t have any redeeming features whatsoever, which is because he is serving the fascist Spanish government of the 1940s (and enjoys the power it gives him), whereas the doctor is a kind man who is serving the resistance by giving them medical attention. Women, on the other hand, are exclusively represented in a positive light. Even though the men in their lives make it clear that they are subservient to them, many of the women in Pan’s Labyrinth show quite the opposite. For example, Mercedes is thought to be this obedient servant to Vidal and his cronies, but she quickly shows that she is anything but, starting from when she was immediately kind to Ofelia, who hate Vidal. This is also shown in the way she directly opposes him and his tyranny, attacking him bravely with the knife that we repeatedly see tucked into her apron.
Ofelia – daughter of Carmen
Despised by the Captain for not fitting into the ‘traditional’ role of the daughter of a strong military figure (despite him not being her father), as she is more rebellious than an average young girl of the 1940s, especially during a fascist dictatorship.
Carmen – heavily pregnant ‘new’ wife of the Captain
Carmen suffers at the hands of Vidal, who dismisses her when it comes to anything other than her pregnancy, even going as far as showing disdain to her excitement of telling someone how they met. Vidal doesn’t mourn her whatsoever, despite her being his wife, as well as telling the doctor to save the child rather than her.
Captain Vidal – Soldier in Franco’s Army
Sees himself as a traditional ‘man of the house’, which is emphasised by his traditional attitudes towards family; he sees woman as inferior and doesn’t show any interest in his wife, Carmen further than her having his son. Also rejects the idea of having a daughter, was disgusted by the idea when the doctor says that they don’t yet know the gender.
Aesthetics
What is the ‘look of the film’? How has this been achieved?
Magical realism film – considers colour palette/music, realism v fantasy, lighting.
Colour palettes are used to differentiate between the fantasy world and the ‘real’ world, were yellows, oranges and golds dominate the fantasy world. This comes with little exceptions, such as when Ofelia meets the Faun for the first time. The real world, on the other hand, is characterised by cooler tones in the form of dark blues, greys and browns. Colour in Pan’s Labyrinth is therefore important in distinguishing between fantasy vs real, as well as suggest Ofelia’s own preference towards the fantasy world, which feels comforting and warm.
Costumes made by designers + del Toro enjoys creating his own unique monsters which are often inspired by mythology. Many of his monsters in Pan’s Labyrinth were sketched, despite not being a trained artist.
Del Toro describes monsters as ‘super-nature’ and something that is ‘necessary for us to understand the cosmos’. Evidently, he finds that well-designed and thought out monsters are required for fantasy storytelling.
Del Toro likes making characters come to life using minimal CGI and mainly puppets, costume and animatronics and describes himself as a ‘set-orientated director’. For example, the Faun costume is made up of many parts, including numerous animatronic parts to make the character come to life. Green screen in also incorporated into this character for the legs, which removes Jones’ real legs. Jones’ Pale Man costume included a vacuform structure being placed on his head and then covered with foam latex skin. This left minimal space for his mouth, showing his prosthetic teeth. However, as Jones could only see out of the costume through its nostrils when he was cross eyed, a second Pale Man dummy was made for scenes when the creature was either sleeping or still.
Fairies are made using CGI – moved around on a pole to animate properly in post-production. Their colours are used to represent the underworld and it’s earthly tones.
Set design
Oscar winning set designer, Eugenio Caballero, describes the fantasy world in Pan’s Labyrinth as ‘reflecting the womb of a mother’, despite it’s scary moments. It is notable that the fantasy world is completely made up of curves, with no straight lines found anywhere. The opposite can be said for the post-Spanish Civil War setting of the real world – straight lines are prominent and could connote the rigidness of the military life Ofelia now has. Furthermore, Caballero purposely built objects bigger than they would normally be, which gave the illusion of Ofelia being dwarfed by her surroundings.
History and Social Contexts
Set in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). The fascists had won the war, with General Franco becoming the self-proclaimed leader of the country. Film is very historical accurate – including costume and attitudes.
The ending of the film suggests the rebels winning against the fascists (Vidal representing Franco)
Institutional context:
Regarded as a Spanish film – cast almost entirely Spanish (except for Doug Jones)
Del Toro and his friends contributed and invested in his film – cut out the studios to prevent them from telling him what to do. However, a studio does publicise and distribute his film.
Took $83 million at the box office. However, Pan’s Labyrinth wasn’t only a box office success, but also artistically successful. Won 3 Oscars in best art direction, best cinematography and best makeup.
