Pans Labyrinth Flashcards
what is pans an allegory of and how does del toro accomplish this
Pans is a gothic realistic fantasy that creates an allegory for the horrors of war by the interconnection between fairy-tale and reality
. Del Toro turns Pan’s Labyrinth into a political allegory where the fight of good and evil represents the fight of the Spanish democratic forces with Franco’s fascist terror.
cinematography in the opening scene (6)
- O is on the floor, hand reaching out nosebleed with pleonastic breathing
2.a crab shot. As the camera reaches it’s destination of Ofelia, it tilts. We then come to understand the camera wasn’t crabbing but moving upwards. The camera tilts (rotates) anticlockwise which is reminiscent of the fact the scene is actually in reverse which we know a the blood dripping from Ofelia’s nose travels upwards. The camera then tightens in on Ofelia while she dies to focus our attention on her and foreshadow that she is a significant character in the film.
3.Camera angles are used to guide the audience of O’s life through analepsis
4.Unreliable narrator
5.The camera then zooms in towards her eye - We see the world through her eyes
6.The first time we seen the interconnection between fantasy and reality – O is our mediator
The suggestion is of course that this world is in
Ofelia’s mind…’A world where there are no lies
and no pain.’ The blue filter is both otherworldly
and cold – befitting the death of a young girl.
sound in pans vidal
-depict controlling nature of Vidal
-pleonastic sound of vidals pocket ticking watch preceded his introduction and acts as a sound bridge from Ofelia and her mother travelling
-this is is furthered by the use of his dialogue’15 minutes late’ which signifies his anger
-this represents Vidal’s domineering and controlling character which are typical in fascist traits. It acts as a criticism that Carmen and Ofelia are late and instantly places Vidal as in charge of them
-motif of time running out
-reminiscent of alice in wonderland ‘feeling of always being late’ O was too late to save her mum during the tasks
mise rn scene in pans - opening scene , vidals costume
vidals costume
-as we are introduced to vidal in the opening sequence, he is presented wearing a typical fascist uniform
-a close up shot of his black gloved hand precedes him and this item of clothing has become sy
del toro influences
- echoes of fantasy and reality
- inspired by spanish artist Goya ( fanstay and invention (during Gs breakdown ) dark combination of fantasy and nightmare , imaginary idea of loneliness, fear and social alienation
sound pans brother breathing
pleonastic of baby bro heart beat
-When O says her story to her brother a pleonastic sounds of a infants heartbeat is present and slowly gets louder
this shows the connection of Ofelia and her brother as the sound barrier between both of them are broken. The sound temporarily overpowers the story. The fact how heartbeat is the only sound shows how pure he is - love has no boundary. Links to the opening of O breathing - shows they both have the passion and ability to keep moving forward when in doubt
-story while brother breathing link between both worlds
aesthetic lair scene
When o moves from the room to the lair, we can already view the sharp colour palette contrast between both worlds.
The real world has blue undertones, yet the fantasy has gold colours and warming tones which embody luxury.
v- tables has a structure, perfectionist – overwhelming need to control even for little elements that seem trivial
Food is wasteful
So overcome by greed he is isolated – future V
Del toro represents pm institutional evil feeding off the helpless
Carried trauma into fantasy world
He sits behind a fire which is parallel to Vidal. In Christianity fire is symbolic of religious zeal and martyrdom (the death of a martyr.). This could be implied to foreshadow O’s death and her death is at the hand of fascists.
The purity of children
v- tables has a structure, perfectionist – overwhelming need to control even for little elements that seem trivial
So overcome by greed he is isolated – future V
Del toro represents pm institutional evil feeding off the helpless
Carried trauma into fantasy world
what quote did del toro use on spanish civil war link to Pans
if it was an event that he had come to know as one of the most horrific, yet unrecognised times in history
chose O to allow us to grasp the first hand horrors that occured thro childs pov
how did del toro represent fascism
through a fable - an influence of his Catholic upbringing- mixed with a fairy tale, as the bad way of representing fascism
a form of the perversion of innocence and thus of childhood
what happened in 2006
PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s Socialist government drafted the law for the recovery of the historical memory.
this law showed a news will to explore the past, compensate victims of the regime and attempt to locate the bodies of those who disappeared or were murdered.
Just as Pans Labyrinth finished filming this law was passed and moves towards honouring the deaths of the republicans were made
describe the opening sequence editing (5)
- reverse nose bleed (back in time to understand journey)
2.abrupt fade into ‘real’ Spain white light signifies stark reality - civil war
3.We are literally being transported through the zoom and cross dissolve
4.shows us we will not follow normal rules of time or reality
-5.tracking shots journeying through the underworld
describe cinematography opening sequence 2
-still shot (shows us that O treasures fairy book and wants to be her as she traces the fairy)
-medium show - close often in a pair
-close up of insect O sees what adults can’t
-high extreme long shot (army formation, power)
-extreme close up of bug
-out of focus to show her delusion
Pov suggests the world of fantasy is about her
mise en scene opening sequence
-expression of fear
-colour indicates coldness and isoloation
-dark colours contrast to the princess world
-childlike innocence in costume
-constrast to warmth of reality - ruins- another sequence
-setting of the fantasy world is below the earths core challenging a key theme of hell or heaven
Del Toros Comment was on the mise em scen/ aesthetic of pans labyrinth
what i didn’t want to do is show fantasy= good , reality= bad; i wanted to juxtapose violence in both worlds ; and in both contexts. So the fantasy has a lot of violence aswell’
editing in (x) sequence
The editing of the film is essentially continuity del Toro does not want to distract from the story.
Panning is used on some occasions to move between scenes but the principle form of transition is the cut this allows us to suspend disbelief and absorb ourselves into the world of the film.
Camera movements are fluid and add to the fantasy feel of the film with crane shots being used to move in and out of the different worlds with in the text.
representation Ofelia when she ruins her dress to achieve the ley
Positive female representation: Strong willed, brave & independent in thought
- Resists fascism/Vidal through love of literature/fairy tales/imagination
- Scene which Ofelia ruins dress -> demonstrates her rejection of patriarchal values & rejection of conformity.
-echoes Mercedes as risk their life for the sake of others
representation Vidal
Obsessed by his father’s military exploits + equally determined his own son (refuses to believe child won’t be a boy) is born close to him. More important than health of sick wife
- Scolds wife for discussing romance in public, dismissive of Ofelia (stepdaughter) -> examples of misogynistic attitudes in patriarchal society
- Appearance & actions (narcissistic grooming - shaving, polishing his boots, spotless uniform, precise way he fixes his father’s watch) point towards excessive display of masculinity & desire for order and to control - linking masculinity & patriarchy to fascism/oppression
briefly describe representation and binary opposites
- Clear binary opposite in terms of representation of gender in Pan’s Labyrinth
- Male characters (except rebels/Doctor Ferreiro) are representative of a patriarchal society
- A system of society/government where men hold power, women largely excluded
- Spain in 1940’s/under Fascist rule = example of patriarchy - Del Toro presents link between oppression of fascism & how patriarchal systems of authority oppress women. Best represented through actions & behaviour of Captain
- Female characters generally represented more positively
- The women (Ofelia/Carmen/Mercedes) all suffer at hands of patriarchy
