Aesthetic qualities impact
Point
Microfeature(s)
Analysis - Emotional response of spectator
Context - War/Fascism
Mexican Corruption
1:14:50 - Doctors death - compassion vs fascism
/ 1:20:00
Ending: 1:40:20 - 1:46:30 +
. Cold bluish lighting
. The Fawn from Vidal's perspective is invisible, making us question Ofelia's fantasy - Vidal is however drugged - The fawn is mimicking fascism (taking of innocence) which is perhaps why Vidal cannot see him as he cannot understand the immorality of his own nature, as he walks into the scene and takes the fawns place
. Performance - Vidal is as cold as the blue colour palette, he shoots Ofelia w/o hesitation
. blood on Ofelia's hands mirrors the claws of the pale man? - the unavoidable innocent victims of fascism
. The blood stands out
. The mill burning in the background - seize the means of production! the mill represented fascist control of food and production
. Her white dress also stands out/ with the blood/ death of innocence at the hands of fascism
. Slow push in onto dripping blood - fairy tale connotations with tragic subversion
. Golden light with magical connotations
. Red shoes - reinforces that this is a fantasy (wizard of Oz - which has a much happier ending)
. Looks as though she is trapped in a golden watch - timeless struggle against fascism - trapped in an idealistic past view of the world (fairy tale like) that no longer exists - roman catholic architecture + golden
. We are brought back into reality by Mercedes humming, the bluish colour returns juxtaposing the gold and we are reminded that Ofelia only manages to escape the brutality of fascism in death
. The fantasy world returns for the last shot, leaving the with viewer some hope - warm colour, nature, white blossoming flower left by Ofelia showing how her imagination goes a long way
. The rebels kill Vidal, the dead personification of Fascism lays before them, the burning mill - the mill also being a symbol of fascism burns behind them, the rebels are surrounded by the downfall of fascism - or is it symbolic of how they cannot escape it, as it is both behind and beyond them implying the cyclical nature of time reinforced by the watch which is handed over to them. The rebels have taken control of the narrative, but the burning mill which stands out against the blues of this scene reminds us that the destructive force of fascism is never far away, the mill being large and foreboding spewing out smoke
. The baby and Ofelia are both dressed in white representative of their innocence as children and the violence committed by fascism
. Vidal walking towards the rebels: Vidal facing the end of fascism
Aesthetics are used in Pans Labyrinth to demonise fascism showing its tragic impact as even the most innocent of people, represented by the young protagonist Ofelia, cannot escape its violence. This is shown in how Ofelia is only able to escape its violence ultimately in death seen in the end scene
Death of Dr Ferreiro
- Blocking: the doctor and rebel at the front (our attention is first drawn to them) subconsciously due to the brighter square of light at the back we notice the two uniformed soldiers watching, allowing the rebels suffering to continue and at the very edge of the frame we notice Vidal watching with intrigue (the use of wide shot allows all this information to be effectively conveyed in one shot establishing relationships between characters - distance and apathy)
- Begins with the captain washing blood from his hands under bluish tones - ends with him killing the doctor - begins and ends with blood on Vidal's hands
- Over the shoulder shot puts us in the doctors difficult position, allowing us to empathise with him
- a low angle shot puts the spectator looking up at the doctor as his face is shrouded half in darkness, reflecting the questionable morality of mercy killing and the dark situation he faces, he could either obey the captain and lose his humanity or mercifully kill the rebel (and possibly be killed by vidal) but save his humanity - after killing the rebel his face is highlighted, highlighting his humanity which he has saved in disobeying the captain reflecting the greater theme of disobedience in this film and the virtue found in this
- The uniformed fascist soldiers are framed in the door way under a bluish colour palette, they are placed in the background creating distance between the captured rebel and the doctor in the foreground, to show the distance in opposing ideologies. The doctor compassionately tends to the rebel, in this still harsh but warmer amber colour palette, the doctor is capable of compassion where as the blue uniformed soldiers in the background some distance away cannot (including Vidal)
- The rebels face is horrifically beaten, Del Toro forces the viewer to confront this horrific violence that Ofelia is also somewhat exposed to
- "to obey just like that, for the sake of obeying, without questioning, that something only people like you can do, Captain".
Dinner Scene
- He dehumanise his wife, telling her people are uninterested in how they met (dehumanising himself as well to an extent)
- Carmen stands out In a light blue dress as opposed to the darker clothing of everyone else at the table
Microfeature(s)
Analysis - Emotional response of spectator
Context - War/Fascism
Mexican Corruption
1:14:50 - Doctors death - compassion vs fascism
/ 1:20:00
Ending: 1:40:20 - 1:46:30 +
. Cold bluish lighting
. The Fawn from Vidal's perspective is invisible, making us question Ofelia's fantasy - Vidal is however drugged - The fawn is mimicking fascism (taking of innocence) which is perhaps why Vidal cannot see him as he cannot understand the immorality of his own nature, as he walks into the scene and takes the fawns place
. Performance - Vidal is as cold as the blue colour palette, he shoots Ofelia w/o hesitation
. blood on Ofelia's hands mirrors the claws of the pale man? - the unavoidable innocent victims of fascism
. The blood stands out
. The mill burning in the background - seize the means of production! the mill represented fascist control of food and production
. Her white dress also stands out/ with the blood/ death of innocence at the hands of fascism
. Slow push in onto dripping blood - fairy tale connotations with tragic subversion
. Golden light with magical connotations
. Red shoes - reinforces that this is a fantasy (wizard of Oz - which has a much happier ending)
. Looks as though she is trapped in a golden watch - timeless struggle against fascism - trapped in an idealistic past view of the world (fairy tale like) that no longer exists - roman catholic architecture + golden
. We are brought back into reality by Mercedes humming, the bluish colour returns juxtaposing the gold and we are reminded that Ofelia only manages to escape the brutality of fascism in death
. The fantasy world returns for the last shot, leaving the with viewer some hope - warm colour, nature, white blossoming flower left by Ofelia showing how her imagination goes a long way
. The rebels kill Vidal, the dead personification of Fascism lays before them, the burning mill - the mill also being a symbol of fascism burns behind them, the rebels are surrounded by the downfall of fascism - or is it symbolic of how they cannot escape it, as it is both behind and beyond them implying the cyclical nature of time reinforced by the watch which is handed over to them. The rebels have taken control of the narrative, but the burning mill which stands out against the blues of this scene reminds us that the destructive force of fascism is never far away, the mill being large and foreboding spewing out smoke
. The baby and Ofelia are both dressed in white representative of their innocence as children and the violence committed by fascism
. Vidal walking towards the rebels: Vidal facing the end of fascism
Aesthetics are used in Pans Labyrinth to demonise fascism showing its tragic impact as even the most innocent of people, represented by the young protagonist Ofelia, cannot escape its violence. This is shown in how Ofelia is only able to escape its violence ultimately in death seen in the end scene
Death of Dr Ferreiro
- Blocking: the doctor and rebel at the front (our attention is first drawn to them) subconsciously due to the brighter square of light at the back we notice the two uniformed soldiers watching, allowing the rebels suffering to continue and at the very edge of the frame we notice Vidal watching with intrigue (the use of wide shot allows all this information to be effectively conveyed in one shot establishing relationships between characters - distance and apathy)
- Begins with the captain washing blood from his hands under bluish tones - ends with him killing the doctor - begins and ends with blood on Vidal's hands
- Over the shoulder shot puts us in the doctors difficult position, allowing us to empathise with him
- a low angle shot puts the spectator looking up at the doctor as his face is shrouded half in darkness, reflecting the questionable morality of mercy killing and the dark situation he faces, he could either obey the captain and lose his humanity or mercifully kill the rebel (and possibly be killed by vidal) but save his humanity - after killing the rebel his face is highlighted, highlighting his humanity which he has saved in disobeying the captain reflecting the greater theme of disobedience in this film and the virtue found in this
- The uniformed fascist soldiers are framed in the door way under a bluish colour palette, they are placed in the background creating distance between the captured rebel and the doctor in the foreground, to show the distance in opposing ideologies. The doctor compassionately tends to the rebel, in this still harsh but warmer amber colour palette, the doctor is capable of compassion where as the blue uniformed soldiers in the background some distance away cannot (including Vidal)
- The rebels face is horrifically beaten, Del Toro forces the viewer to confront this horrific violence that Ofelia is also somewhat exposed to
- "to obey just like that, for the sake of obeying, without questioning, that something only people like you can do, Captain".
Dinner Scene
- He dehumanise his wife, telling her people are uninterested in how they met (dehumanising himself as well to an extent)
- Carmen stands out In a light blue dress as opposed to the darker clothing of everyone else at the table
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