Global Cinema

Read through MLE worksheets - background info, production context at time of production and diegesis, Look at what Del Torro says about it


Pans Labyrinth
Childlike storytelling at the beginning, narration and cinematography - comic book almost, cartoonish. Combined with the Ofelia's bookish nature it immediately creates a fairy tale esque plot, which is twisted into almost horror
Watching from the insect's perspective multiple times at the start creates a sense of foreboding
Fire goes against the blue when Ofelia and the mother are in bed, possibly showing isolation
Military uniforms are blue, contrasting with the woods and nature, they don't belong#
Starts like either a war film or a fantasy film
Key elements of film form: always moving cameras, always soft lighting, orangey-blue colour scheme
High pitched noise is a motif for tools, metal


Research:
Although audiences have interpreted the film's bittersweet ending as everything from a religious metaphor to a psychological allegory, Guillermo del Toro offers a simpler, but more poetic, explanation, "I always think of that beautiful quote by Søren Kierkegaard that says the tyrant's reign ends with his death, but the martyr's reign starts with his death. I think that is the essence of the movie; it's about living forever by choosing how you die."
While some viewers believe Ofelia's eating the grapes in the Pale Man's den to be something of a "too dumb to live" moment for the young heroine, it would actually seem to be a reference to what turns out to be her ultimate virtue: Courageous disobedience. According to Guillermo del Toro this theme is why the movie is set against the backdrop of falangist Spain (where disobeying the fascist regime was dangerous), and the final test of character for the princess confirms the importance of disobedience as well.
Javier Navarrete's score is structured around a lullaby.
+