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Pan's Labyrinth Mise en Scene - Coggle Diagram
Pan's Labyrinth Mise en Scene
OPENING SEQUENCE
COLOUR
At the start of the movie, the colour palette of the real world is cold and steely - dark, blacks and greys with a slight blue green tinge
Represents the coldness and brutality of the world we have just entered. Sets the tone that the world is in a very dark place at the time of these events
Goes hand in hand with the sad image we are being shown of Ofelia dying emphasising the state the world is in
CONTEXT: Franco's rule creating a dark shadow over Spain - representation by Del Toro of what fascism does to innocent people
Blue colour is cold and holds an association with death
This colour carries on into the underworld
Could represent the importance Princess Moanna has to the underworld - her running away is causing the darkness and therefore it emphasises the importance of Ofelia making it back
Or could be used to create mistrust in the underworld and make us understand why Moanna is running away
Blue colour in the underworld at beginning perhaps is used to demonise temptation and disobedience - Moanna's temptation of running away. Mirrors how disobedience and temptation are punished later in the narrative
There is binary opposites set up through colour - real world has cold blue, grey and black hues where as underworld has very warm colours of gold and yellow and red
At the beginning the binary opposites are set up the other way around making it look like the real world is nicer than it is - trick
COSTUME
Carmen and Ofelia are dressed in typical 1940s attire
Clothes are plain
Reflects social status but also used to contrast with Vidal's perfect uniform
Carmen's outfit represents the meekness and physical weakness of her character - she is plain but also her shirt is untidy which greatly contrasts Vidal
Ofelia clothes are plain but her dress is green - evokes feelings of nature - she is close to nature, she fits in with nature
SETTING
Ruins of church show violence and the impact that the war has had on Spain
Woods - synonymous with the rebels
PROPS
Ofelia's books
First time we see Ofelia she has her head in a book, so much so she is oblivious to her mum's sickness
Books represent her childhood - Ofelia wants to remain a child where as her mother wants her to grow up (shown through her taking the book of off Ofelia).
This creates tension between Carmen and Ofelia as she keeps telling her she's too old for fairytales - even though Carmen wants her to grow up out of her best interests as she knows the horrors of the world
Vidals gloves
the leather gloves are vidal's way of avoiding human contact - gloves create a sort of signature sound for Vidal of the leather creaking
Gloves only come off for son or for torturing
Shattered pocket watch
represents his fractured self
the watch also represents the fact that vidal is exacting and meticulous in his sense of time and order. Its an extension of his fascist political ideas
The watch is also passed down from his father symbolising how his sense of order is passed down to him by his father
watch represents masculinity to Vidal
PALE MAN
COLOUR
Contrast between harsh blue of Ofelia's bedroom and then the warm colours of the pale mans lair
POSSIBLE CROSSOVER WITH SET DESIGN: On the walls of the entry way into the pale mans lair, there is a red tinge splattered all over the walls and food
Creates a violent feel as it feels reminiscent of blood
Represents the violence towards children inflicted by the pale man and, consequently Vidal who he mirrors
CONTEXT: This is a commentary on the catholic church and fascism and how it caused a loss of childhood through violence and corruption
The red could also however be representative of blood of the womb as Ofelia's heaven is returning back to the womb - along with the soft shapes and previous fallopian imagery it creates a sense of the fantasy world being natural
This also contrasts the sharp angular feel and settings of the real world such as vidal's office
SETTING/PROPS
The pale man is sat at the head of a long table that is full of food
This mirrors the earlier scene of Captain Vidal's dinner scene, with the pale man being a direct comparison to vidal based on where they are both sat at the table
Aligns the pale man and Vidal, thus aligning their actions and what they do to children - vidal may not eat children but he has, through his fascist regime, killed many and caused a loss of chilhood and innocence for all other children in Spain
The pale man and vidal are aligned further through the fact that they are both blind to how their actions affect others and are horrific - pale man is literally blind, vidal is figuratively blind
Paintings on the ceiling which depict the pale man eating children
Convey a sense that the pale man has been around for many many years and that he should be feared greatly
The pictures refer to Kronos - the Greek myth in which Cronus devoured his own children to stop them overthrowing him like he did with his father
Relation to Saturn Devouring his Sons by Goya - the painting depicting the same myth
Pile of shoes in the pale mans lair
represents his evil intentions
reference to the holocaust and Nazi regime
further reinforces the brutality of Vidal's morals and what his beliefs do to people but more specifically children
Creates a link between Hitler and Vidal - makes us despise Vidal as this is what he upholds and believes in
Banquet table full of food
All the food represents temptation and is laid out as bait
Food can also be representative of the church their greed through the war, by taking from the poor and innocent despite all their wealth
Fire behind the pale man
The fire parallels the fire behind captain vidal, further aligning the two
It also provides a religious link, suggesting that he has emerged from the fires of hell - he is pure evil
Chalk
Chalk represents the way that the magic world empowers her to make her own decisions and opportunities to save herself, even when it looks like she has ran out of options
COSTUME
Pale man meant to look like a fat man who has lost a bunch of weight
This is because it is meant to represent how the pale man got fat off of children for many years until Princess Moanna left and he has had to go without, consequently losing all the weight
Pale mans claws are black
contrast with the rest of his paleness and stand out
Made to look violent and evil - emphasise his danger that may not be conveyed through the rest of his look
Pale man has holes in his hands fit for his eyes
The wounds are reminiscent of the wounds Jesus had when nailed to the cross
Creates a link between the pale man and the church/religion
Paleness of the pale man
meant to represent the paleness of the pope
CONTEXT: link to church and how the church sided with fascism
INSIDE OF CAPTAIN VIALS LAIR/ FIXING WATCH
SETTING
Inside his office is meant to look like the inside of his pocket watch
Representation of the most important theme to the captain, time
Emphasises his ambition to carry on his fathers legacy and live up to him. - he revolves his whole world around the pocket watch
he essentially lives in time
Office looks mechanical
Mechanical elements of his office are there to represent his mechanical nature - he is very robotic and upholds a robotic regime
this is contrasted by the fact that the rebels live in the woods - the woods are as close to nature as you can be. Del Toro is suggesting that the republicans are natural and rebellion is natural
COLOUR
There is the classic blue hue in Vidal's office
Create a feeling of coldness that is also linked with the opening shot of Ofelia dying
Lots of the office is in shadow