Pans Labyrinth

Binary Oppositions:
Freedom vs Oppression/Freedom vs Fascism/Female vs Male/Femininity vs Masculinity
Fantasy vs Reality/Childhood vs Adulthood/Naivety vs Reality
Parent vs Child (captain looking up to father, Mercedes becoming mother role)
Female vs Male (Men have all the power - freedom fighters, doctors, Faun. Women underestimated but then show their strength)
Ofelia ends up taking care of mother with mandrake, rebels defeat soldiers, women defeat men - oppressed rise up, all lead to freedom
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Sequences to be used for the themes:
Arriving at the house shows themes of parent vs child (the relationship between Ofelia, her mother, the captain, and setting up Mercedes to be a replacement mother), femininity vs masculinity (captain makes mother sit in the wheelchair, mother needs driver's help when sick, but while captain decides what happens the women are instrumental in it happening - he responds to them), fantasy vs reality (Mercedes obsessed with the fair only to be brought back to reality by the focus shift and her mothers focus on her shoes)
Captain killing rabbit hunters is parent vs child (lack of power father has to help son directly comparable with mother over Ofelia and her son because of the captain - fascism and hierarchy takes away family). Captain is half in shadow* while others are cowering in darkness. Entire film language of the scene doesn't work as expected. Doesn't build tension via music or cinematography (i.e. swell of music and close ups), relates to fascism and fem vs masc as it looks casual - robotic, procedure, no emotion on his face. No punishment for the officer who brought them in front of him wrongly - life is cheap
*his face is half in shadow at other times - before interrogating the stuttering rebel, his face is half covered in shaving cream when he pretends to cut his own throat in the mirror. Possibly shows the inherent violence he and by extension fascism has
Captain at the head of the table relates to Pale Man scene - both at the head of the table with fire behind them, Pale Man = fascism. Pile of shoes relates to concentration camp imagery, officer has a luger, a German gun
When mother is hurt, Mercedes immediately becomes the mother role - i.e. singing
When Ofelia talks to Faun there's a lot of music, when it cuts to the doctor and Ofelia there's no sonic bridge, snaps back to reality
Recurring image of lottery ticket - when listening to lottery numbers Mercedes escapes leading to their demise - greed, fascists selfishness leads to demise
When captain finds the root, there's never a 3 shot of all of them together - they aren't a family, they're separate. (Parent vs Child)


Editing:
Frog scene - seems seamless
Rabbit Hunter scene and the lack of conventional/Hollywood editing, no quick cuts
Fantasy vs Reality - pans with cuts to other places blurs between fantasy and reality, especially as it's usually used to cut between the two
Jump Cut/Axial Cut when she enters the Pale Man place shows her isolation and small size, and the chase uses choppy editing to make the chase seem faster than it is, especially his movement
Editing slows down massively when she's shot, her life ebbs away