Scene Analysis: Pale Man Scene

Question 1

Cinematography:
1. Close up of fairies being eaten
2. Close up of hourglass
3. Slowly pan across to Pale Man
4. Tracking shot of Pale man chasing Ofelia
5. Close up of chair breaking

Answer 1

1. Connotes violence
2. suggests time is running out
3. Builds suspense
4. Creates a sense of anxiety
5. builds tension

Question 2

Sound:
1. Music rises in intensity as Ofelia opens the door and goes silent once through
2. Sound of sand in background fades away as she gets more distracted
3. Room sounds cold: echoes
4. Steady jump beat

Answer 2

1. Shows the shift in dimensions
2. Shows how Ofelia has forgot about her task and the pressure of time
3. Juxtaposes with the warmth of the fireplace
4. Reflects Ofelia’s heartbeat

Question 3

Mise en scene:
1. Dark and pale lighting in real world
2. Gothic architecture
3. Orange and gold tones in fantasy world
4. Food on the table
5. Fireplace
6. Fairies warning her not to eat the fruit
7. Red eyes of Pale Man
8. Pale Man’s body
9. Painting of the Pale Man eating children
10. Eye motif
11. Eyes on hands
12. Red colour palette
13. Drawing of the pale man
14. motif of the number 3; 3 keyholes, 3 tasks, 3 fairies

Answer 3

1. shows misery of the real world
2. link back to fantasy
3. shows how the fantasy world acts as an escape
4. Christian imagery: symbolises the forbidden fruit in Genesis. also symbolic of Hansel and Gretel
5. Symbolises the gates of hell
6. Ofelia ignores them: symbolises children’s disobedience
7. connotes evil
8. looks like he has lost weight
9. gives a back story and reflects Goya’s “Saturn devouring his son”
10. eyes are the window to the soul
11. Christian imagery: Christs marks on his hands after crucifixion. also reflects Catholic St Lucy: eyes on plate
12. connotes danger
13. uses uterine imagery
14. reference of the Holy Trinity

Question 4

Del Toro quote about what the Pale Man symbolises

Answer 4

“Pale man represents the Church for me, represents fascism and the Church eating the children when they have an abundant banquet in front of them”

Question 5

Editing:
1. Slow paced
2. Cross cutting between Ofelia running and the hourglass
3. Cuts from Pale Man to paintings
4. Match on action with Pale Man grabbing ankles
5. Cuts away from chair

Answer 5

1. switches to fast paced with rapid shots when tension builds up
2. symbolises running out of time
3. shows the link
4. anticipates her escape

Question 6

Performance:
1. Ofelia looks curious
2. Ofelia loses focus when seeing the food
3. Pale Man is silent
4. Pale Man screams sound like children
5. Ofelia is desperate to escape
6. Ofelia picks up the saucer with eyes
7. Ofelia trusting her instincts by choosing what key hole to use

Answer 6

1. trait in children
2. emphasises her hunger
3. creates an eerie atmosphere; lethargic, like a corpse
4. reflects who his victims are
5. shows she is not scared
6. active disobedience