A detailed guide and workbook for Pan's Labyrinth as part of the A-Level Film Studies Specification covering context, a detailed analysis of the film, examinations of Spanish Cinema, Civil War, as well as work on representation and aesthetics as well as the aesthetic influences of Director Guillermo Del Toro.

1. Film Studies A-level
PAN’S LABYRINTH
Component 2: Global Filmmaking Perspectives
Section A: Global Film (two film study)
NAME: ____________________________________________________________

2. Ivana Baquero
as Ofelia
Sergi Lopez as
Vidal
Doug Jones as
Fauno and Pale
Man
Maribel Verdu
as Mercedes
Ariadna Gil as
Carmen
Alex Angulo as
Doctor Ferreiro
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Produced by:
Guillermo del Toro
Bertha Navarro
Alfonso Cuarón
Frida Torresblanco
Alvaro Augustin
Written by: Guillermo del Toro
Starring:
Ivana Baquero
Sergi Lopez
Doug Jones
Maribel Verdu
Ariadna Gil
Alex Angulo
Music by: Javier Navarrete
Cinematography: Guillermo Navarro
Edited by: Bernat Vilaplana
Distributed by: Warner Bros.
Release date:
27 May 2006 (Cannes)
11 October 2006 (Spain)
20 October 2006 (Mexico):
Running time: 119 minutes
Country:
Spain
Mexico
Language: Spanish
Budget: $19 million
Box Office: $83.3 million
PAN’S LABYRINTH FACTFILE

3. • What was the Spanish Civil War?
• Who was Franco and what is a fascist regime?
• What is meant by Falangist Spain?
• What is a fantasy film? Give some examples of other famous fantasy films and explain what
makes them fantasy films.
• Who was Roger Ebert and why should we care what he thinks?
• Who is Guillermo del Toro? List some of his eminent films from his filmography. For any you
have seen, what is your opinion of them? If you have not seen any, choose at least one film
and watch the trailer for it and explain whether the film is appealing to you or not and why.
• What is a Faun and how might this relate to ideas of fantasy films?
• List at least 3 other important crew members on the film and list their job tile (consider areas
of films we’ve been studying so far for possible ideas).
•
•
INITIAL TASKS

4. The idea for PAN'S LABYRINTH came from Guillermo del
Toro's notebooks, which he says are filled with "doodles,
ideas, drawings and plot bits". He had been keeping these
notebooks for twenty years.
According to del Toro, Pan’s Labyrinth is meant to be seen
as an ‘informal’ sequel to his other civil war era film, THE
DEVIL’S BACKBONE (2001) and is intended to be part of a
trilogy.
The film was shot in a Scots Pine forest situated in the
Guadarrama mountain range, Central Spain. Guillermo
Navarro, the director of photography, said that "after doing work in Hollywood on other movies and
with other directors, working in our original language in different scenery brings me back to the
original reasons I wanted to make movies, which is basically to tell stories with complete freedom and
to let the visuals really contribute to the telling of the story".[
Initially PAN’S LABYRINTH didn’t come into being at all, del Toro was warned by friends and
colleagues not to make the film and has in interviews eluded to the difficulties in securing funding for
the film.
“the production and the shooting of Pan was very, very hard, a very difficult experience. After Mimic,
Pan was the toughest shoot I’ve ever had” Guillermo del Toro, March 2013.
______________
‘Shooting PAN'S LABYRINTH was very painful, but it also became a war about me not compromising. I
gave back my entire salary in order to get the film made the way I wanted it. I probably should have
abandoned it the moment the funding fell through the first time, but I stuck with it for almost two-and-a-
half years and refused to back down.’ Guillermo del Toro, The Observer, 5th
of November 2006.
The film was rejected by every major and independent studio in the USA, but eventually found its
funding through a combination of sources in Spain and Mexico.
Del Toro was able to rely on some of his old contacts in the ‘Tequila gang’ and found the remaining
money from Spanish televisual studio Tele5. The total production budget came to $19 million, which is
reflected in the complex production design, period dressing and relatively large cast. The eventual
worldwide box office of $83.3 million was seen as a triumph.
Pan's Labyrinth employs some computer-generated imagery in its effects, but mostly uses complex
make-up and animatronics. The giant toad was inspired by The Maze. Del Toro himself performed the
noises. The mandrake root is a combination of animatronics and CGI. Del Toro wanted the fairies "to
look like little monkeys, like dirty fairies", but the animation company had the idea to give them wings
made of leaves.
TASK:
Research the Tequila Gang, its emergence and who constitutes its membership. Find out which
notable films the Tequila gang are associated with.
PRODUCTION HISTORY

5. Jones spent an average of five hours sitting in the makeup chair as his team of David Marti, Montse
Ribe and Xavi Bastida applied the makeup for the Faun, which was mostly latex foam. The last piece to
be applied was the pair of horns, which weighed ten pounds and were extremely tiring to wear. The
legs were a unique design, with Jones standing on eight-inch-high lifts, and the legs of the Faun
attached to his own. His lower leg was eventually digitally erased in post-production.
The Captain's room, as shown in the scene where Captain Vidal is shaving, is supposed to resemble his
father's watch, which del Toro says represents his troubled mind.
A bout of weight loss on Del Toro's part inspired the physical appearance of the saggy-skinned Pale
Man. In order to see while performing the part, Doug Jones had to look out of the character's nostrils,
and its legs were attached to the front of the green leotard which Jones wore.
The film uses subtitles for its translation into other languages, including English. Del Toro wrote them
himself, because he was disappointed with the subtitles of his previous Spanish film, THE DEVIL'S
BACKBONE.
Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan%27s_Labyrinth
TASK:
In production del Toro preferred to use prosthetics (using artificial limbs, masks and other
elements of costume and make up design) rather than CGI to create the fantasy creatures in the
film. These videos may help in answering the following questions:
https://youtu.be/F33XAA2uJc0 and https://youtu.be/S0Iy5nhRcqo and this video which gives
a wider insight into Doug Jones, with plenty of footage from other collaborations with del Toro.
Do you feel that this technique gives these creatures a different feel than purely CGI created
characters? Why?
Does this use of prosthetics alter your initial feeling and appreciation of the characters?

6. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2006 (where it received a
twenty-two-minute standing ovation) and in the UK at the Fright Fest Festival the
same year.
The film received its first general release in October 2006 in Spain and Mexico. It
was released in the United Kingdom by Optimum on 24 November 2006. In the
United States and Canada, the film was given a limited release on 29 December
2006, with a wide release on 19 January 2007.
The film received virtually universal critical acclaim. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film
a score of 95% based on 225 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "PAN'S
LABYRINTH is Alice in Wonderland for grown-ups, with the horrors of both reality and fantasy blended
together into an extraordinary, spellbinding fable." Based on reviews from 37 critics, it received a
98/100 score at Metacritic, making it Metacritic's highest-rated film of the 2000s decade]
and the
second highest-rated movie of all time.
Mark Kermode described it as one of the best films of the year ‘Set against the backdrop of fascist
Spain in 1944, PAN'S LABYRINTH is a dark fairy tale that distils his distinctive mix of fact and fantasy,
poetry and politics, pain and pleasure. It's an epic, poetic vision in which the grim realities of war are
matched and mirrored by a descent into an underworld populated by fearsomely beautiful monsters -
a transformative, life-affirming nightmare which is, for my money, the very best film of the year.’
Jim Emerson called the film "a fairy tale of such potency and awesome beauty that it reconnects the
adult imagination to the primal thrill and horror of the stories that held us spellbound as children".
Roger Ebert reviewed the film after his surgery and put it on his Great Movies list on 27 August 2007;
[
when he compiled his belated top ten films of 2006, PAN'S LABYRINTH was #1, with him stating "But
even in a good year I'm unable to see everything. And I'm still not finished with my 2006 discoveries.
I'm still looking at more 2007 movies, too, and that list will run as usual in late December. Nothing I
am likely to see, however, is likely to change my conviction that the year's best film was PAN'S
LABYRINTH."
The New Yorker's Anthony Lane took special note of the film's sound design, saying it "discards any
hint of the ethereal by turning up the volume on small, supercharged noises: the creak of the Captain's
leather gloves... the nighttime complaints of floorboard and rafter...."
The film was nominated for several awards, winning a BAFTA for Best Film Not in English as well as
Best Costume Design, Best Make-up, and Best Hair. The film also won three Academy Awards for Best
Art direction, Best Cinematography and Best Make Up and was nominated for Best Original Score,
Best Original Screenplay, and Best Foreign Language film. At the Goya Awards, Spain’s equivalent to
the Academy Awards, Pan’s Labyrinth won in many categories including: Best Cinematography,
Editing, Make Up & Hairstyles, New Actress for Ivana Baquero, Original Screenplay, Sound, and
Special Effects.
During its limited first three weeks at the United States box office, the film made $5.4 million. As of 1
March 2007, it has grossed over $37 million in North America, and grossed $80 million worldwide. In
Spain, it grossed almost $12 million, and it is the fourth highest domestically grossing foreign film in the
United States. In the United States, it has generated $55 million from its DVD sales and rentals.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan%27s_Labyrinth
RELEASE AND CRITICAL RECEPTION

7. RESEARCH TASK:
Find a critically valuable review of PAN’S LABYRINTH (intelligent and detailed!) and print it out
or copy and paste below/onto another document. Annotate the review highlighting views on film
technique / aesthetics / representations of gender or age / references to social, historical or
political contexts as well as anything else that you might find interesting. Be prepared to share
with the rest of the class.

8. In the 1930s, Spain was a deeply divided country that was torn both
politically and economically. The country had been deeply hit by the Great
Depression after the Wall Street Crash. Partly due to this turmoil, in 1929
the military dictatorship that had ruled Spain since 1923 collapsed. In
1931 the King abdicated and the first Republican came to power.
An uneasy period of democracy followed with right-wing Nationalist and left-wing Republican parties
competing for power. The Nationalist party was made up of monarchists, landowners, employers, the
Roman Catholic Church and the army. The Republicans consisted of the workers, the trade unions,
socialists and peasants.
In 1936 lead by General Franco a section of the Spanish army rebelled against the second republic
and a civil war ensued resulting in victory for the Franco and his Fascists in 1939. Franco then ruled as
dictator of Spain for the next thirty-six years.
The Spanish civil war is often seen by historians as the first flash point of world
war two with Hitler and Mussolini supporting Franco and Stalin and the Soviet
Union partially supporting the cause of the Republicans.
The war is also seen as one of the last great ideological conflict, a conflict
between ideals fought out by idealists. As Stephen Schwartz describes it ‘the twentieth century’s most
poignant and passionate historical conflict’ (Film History: A International Journal, vol 20, no4 2008).
Thousands of people volunteered to fight for the Republican cause coming from all over Europe, USA
and Canada.
The Pact of Silence and The Law for the Recovery of the Historical Memory
Franco is reported to have spoken of his military campaign as a ‘crusade’ that his intention was to
‘purify’ Spain bit by bit (at one-point Vidal speaks of his wish to see his son born in a ‘new clean
Spain’). Often as Franco’s armies took Republican controlled areas there followed pogroms and mass
executions.
It is estimated that 500,000 people died during the war but only 300,000 of these are believed to be
combatants, meaning that 40% of all casualties in the war were civilians. After the war the killings
continued as the fascists sought to eradicate resistance and political opposition some mass graves that
have been exhumed recently appear to date from the 60’s and 70’s. Military resistance continued with
guerrilla groups (The Maquis) refusing to surrender especially in the north of the country and it is this
group that feature in the film.
When Franco died in 1975 the country began a long process of returning to democracy. As part of this
process both sides left and right agreed to a ‘pact of silence’. As part of the pact the war was to
remain off the political agenda in order not to open wounds or detract from the democratisation of
society.
In 2006 Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialist government drafted the Law for the
Recovery of the Historical Memory this law showed a new will to explore the past, compensate victims
of the regime and attempt to locate the bodies of those who disappeared or were murdered.
SPANISH CIVIL WAR

9. Cinema and the Spanish Civil War
The death of Franco and the end of almost a forty year of repression was supplanted by an age of
personal and political freedoms that would revitalise Spanish cinema and even though politically the
subject of the war was off the agenda, it terms of cultural products the subject of the conflict was
revisited in cinema, literature and television. Early post Franco Films dealing with the civil war include
THE GUERNICA TREE (Arrabel, 1975), RETRATO DE FAMILIA (Gimmenez-Rico, 1976) and LONG
VACATIONS OF ’36 (Espanda, 1976).
The civil war had featured in American and European cinema outside of Spain as
early as 1937 with THE SPANISH EARTH (Ivens, 1937) a documentary film written
by Earnest Hemmingway and Hollywood’s first fictional treatment of the conflict
arrived the same year with THE LAST TRAIN FROM MADRID (Hogan, 1937).
It has been argued that these films treat the war very differently from those
produced in Spain. These non-Spanish films approach the conflict with fascism in
Spain as symbolic of a general struggle against totalitarianism. Ken Loach’s LAND
AND FREEDOM (Loach, 1995) for example not only identifies a struggle with
fascism as part of a general class struggle but also a fight against Stalinism.
RESEARCH TASK
Do some research into the Spanish civil war and find out who the following organisation were; PCE,
POUM, CNT, International Brigades, Unión Militar Española and the FE. Create a brief set of bullet
points outlining the main values of each group. Save space for each so that you can later add
details about how the values of these groups present themselves in PAN’S LABYRINTH when have
watched it.
PCE
POUM
CNT
International Brigades
Unión Militar Española
FE

10. The Spanish films that approach the war differ from those made outside of the
country, as they are often more reflective and searching for thematic ideas and
tend to examine the war from the point of view of personal trauma and national
disaster, rather than of the war itself. As a result, these films are often full of
metaphorical representations of the conflict as in The SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE
(Erice, 1973) where two children wander the countryside looking for a
‘Frankenstein’ - a manmade monster in 1940’s Spain. Shelley’s original novel was
wrapped in contextual influence, metaphor and allegory about God, the creation
myth and religion. However, the role of the fantastical and the ideas around a
haunting spirit, made through trauma and having a sense of the mythical, is
something which resonates through history and art for many reasons.
THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE contains another common feature of these films which the central role of
fantasy specifically the imagined world of children to the narrative. Examples of this particular way of
exploring the conflict can be seen in THE DEVILS BACKBONE (del Toro, 2001), BUTTERFLY TONGUES
(Cuerda, 1999), PAN’S LABYRINTH (del Toro, 2006) and most recently BLACK BREAD (Villaronga,
2010).
In these films the monsters often appear only to the children
or in the case of PAN’S LABYRINTH appear only in a world
created by the character.
In her book on PAN’S LABYRINTH, Mar Diestro-Dopido also
argues that several of these films focus on the unearthing of
the past / dead which she argues could be seen as a
metaphor for the recovery of historical memory.
DISCUSSION TASK:
What possible metaphorical or allegorical meanings could you associated with film monsters?
OPINION TASK
Whilst watching PAN’S LABYRINTH and considering after, make notes on what these creatures
mean for the characters and for is the audience.

11. The film is a magical realist text – combining beautifully constructed but very dark
fantasy sequences, some verging on horror, with a graphically violent rendering of
factional fighting in Northern Spain in the early years of Franco’s dictatorship.
Del Toro has referred to this film as a very loose sequel to an earlier feature
horror, The Devil’s Backbone – itself set in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War.
In PAN’S LABYRINTH, Franco’s army unit is represented as a brutalising force of
occupation and its commanding officer, Captain Vidal, as a sadistic epitome of
evil: cruel to everyone including his wife and step-
daughter. His evident pleasure in torture is straight out of a psycho-horror
film. The ruling elite who attend a banquet given by him are equally venal
and corrupt and Del Toro clearly has little empathy for the priest and the
organised Catholicism he represents. In contrast however we find the
guerrillas and their supporters, such as Mercedes and the Doctor, are
presented as honourable and caring people. Del Toro makes it very clear
with whom we are positioned to side. Indeed the narrative triumph of liberalism over fascism is literal
as the movie ends with the Captain’s execution by the victorious rebels and Ofelia’s imaginative or real
resurrection in the Underworld.
Another motif, aside from the Gothic and gore discussed above is paganism. The moss- covered ruins
of the Labyrinth and associated standing stones, and the tree beneath which Ofelia finds the toad and
from which blooms her own resurrection all suggest a sophisticated and elemental pagan past now
acting as rare portals to the fairy kingdom.
_________________________________________________________________________
Pan's Labyrinth started with a visual image. As a child, del
Toro states that he was convinced that a goat man lived in
the bedroom closet and was going to come out and grab
him. This goat man later became the basis for Pan, the
central character of the film. All of Guillermo del Toro films
begin as a series of notes and sketches. He keeps his note
book with at all times and his four years of notes on
character design and ruminations about plot were the foundation of ‘Pan’s Labyrinth.
Del Toro is a fan of Spanish artist Francisco de Goya, in particular his dark paintings. The images in
the painting cycle – all marked by an impressive and fairly gruesome undertone – belong to the
Spanish painter’s late period. He painted all 14 pictures on the walls of his villa near to the city of
Madrid. The pictures were created from 1820 onwards; the choice of motifs, the expressive style and
colour palette with dark, earthy tones can be traced back to Goya’s experiences of the Napoleonic
Wars and loss of his hearing. The motifs of the Black Paintings depict grim beings with distorted faces,
immeasurable suffering and demonic anguish. Del Toro uses a similar type of colour palate and the
chiaroscuro lighting that Goya used in his paintings, imitating the dark shadows created by Goya’s
application of paint.
AESTHETIC INFLUENCES

12. “Goya was an obvious reference, specifically with regards to the character of the Pale Man. There is a
scene in which the Pale Man bites the heads off the fairies. That comes straight from Goya’s painting
of ‘Saturn devouring his son’.” (Del Toro 2006).
Saturn Devouring His Son is certainly the best known work of the Black
Paintings. It depicts the Greek-Roman myth of Saturn (Titan Cronus in Ancient
Greek), who, fearing that he would be overthrown by one of his children, ate
each one upon their birth. Guillermo del Toro’s pale-man sequence is replete
with thematic aspects of Goya’s paintings and also draws on colours and
stylistic elements.
The stylistic elements found within the pale-man sequence, however, are not
based on Saturn Devouring His Son, but rather on another Goya painting from
the same period, Two Old Men Eating Soup. This painting may not be a direct
thematic template, but its gloomy colours and lighting provide the ideal
undertone for the scene. The painting depicts two unknown old men. While the man with the grotesque
face holds a soup spoon in his hand, the hand of the other person is only resting on the soup dish. Both
individuals gaze out of the frame, almost in expectation of a
third individual. The backdrop is nearly fully black while
ochre and brown hues predominate in the foreground. The
underground vaults in PAN’S LABYRINTH draw on both the
colour palette of the picture, as well as its trenchant
chiaroscuro illumination.
The theme of being underground also reoccurs in the films of
del Toro. In Pan’s Labyrinth this adventure into a world of darkness as part of a path to enlightenment
is what Ofelia takes. As with Alice in wonderland his story is full of symbolism and therefore the
importance of and presentation of iconography in his films needs to be addressed.
________________________________________________________________________________
The film is very striking in its use of colour. The colour used in the film helps us to distinguish between
the real and unreal worlds of the film and the internal states of the characters or the world that they
create. A key influence on del Toro was British artist Arthur Rackham (1867-1939), who is considered
the pre-eminent illustrator of the early 20th century. His imaginative colour palates of gossamer fairies,
mischievous goblins and gnarled trees enchanted and petrified viewers in equal measure. His
illustrations clearly inspired del Toro as they made fairy tales sensual and dark. Rackham’s twisted
trees influenced the design of the faun’s legs as well as the tree that houses the giant toad.

13. RESEARCH /CREATIVE TASK
Using all the aesthetic influences that have been discussed above, create a mood board for
which demonstrates as many examples of Del Toro’s aesthetics in PAN’S LABYRINTH.

14. PAN’S LABYRINTH is set in the northern area of Spain, we are told near to the border with France. The
mountainous areas and forests place it most likely the areas between Galicia and Navarra rather than
on the Pyrenees. These areas are also the most likely setting as this is the part of Spain where the
Maquis existed after the end of the war. Galicia is a relatively
famous and somewhat ‘trendy’ party of Spin these days. With a
warm climate all year round, a mix of large but intimate cities
and a wonderful local cuisine as well as some well-known
football teams, Galicia is a relatively well-known area of Spain.
Of course, this is something which has developed through the
tourist boom of the 50s onwards and the age of the Internet
making it easier for people to share knowledge and tips about the area. Similarly, Galica has close
transport links with Europe and England specifically and so travel to the area has dramatically
increased in recent decades. By contrast, Navarra is an area of Spain which is very different to the
idea of Spain that many of us might hold. Bordering France and the regions of Aragon and Catalonia,
the very North of Spain shares cultural and physical links with France and has a climate which
generally, is much more temperate in terms of climate. The geography, climate and history of Northern
Spain have perpetuated unique cultural characteristics which have evolved over hundreds if not
thousands of years. As with the rest of Spain, cultural identity in Northern Spain is allied to specific
regional differences in food, language, music, dance and celebrations, but the culture of this area is
also rooted in Celtic tribal culture. Traditional ways of life tied to food production such as fishing, stock
raising, farming and viticulture, continue, particularly in rural areas and other traditions such as shoe
making and cutting crops with scythes resits modern development.
PAN’S LABYRINTH then, is a product of a range of context factors. Perhaps none more so than del
Toro’s own interest in folklore and mythology. This has always been a preoccupation of del Toro and is
seen in his first feature CRONOS (1993). As Mar Diestro-Dopido states when discussing del Toro’s
monsters,
‘these are often drawn from classic mythology, literature, art,
popular culture and folklore, and contrast with the horror of a
specific historical reality’ Pan’s Labyrinth, Mar Diestro-Dopido, BFI
Publishing, 2013.
In Pan’s Labyrinth we can see this interest in the objects and
creatures that inhabit Ofelia’s world. In the film, del Toro uses
actual historical context expressed through the viewpoint of a child to create two contrasting worlds
within the film. The collisions between these worlds are expressed in the dynamic between two of the
films characters. Ofelia who escapes the cruelties of the world through her fairy tales and her
stepfather, the violent and sadistic fascist officer Vidal.
The original Spanish title refers to the fauns of Roman mythology, while the English, German and
French titles refer specifically to the faun-like Greek deity Pan. Pan’s Labyrinth, following the typical
hero’s journey (Campbell), is riddled with reimagining and imagery from the ancient Greco-roman
myths of Pan and Echo, Odysseus and the Cyclops, and power-loving oppressive Cronos. The film
draws inspiration from Greek mythology’s Saturn/Cronos, where the villain is a Cronos- like paternal
character.
MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION

15. Del Toro has often said that PAN’S LABYRINTH is his least Catholic film although other have disagreed
(Alejandro González Iñárritu described the film as a ‘truly catholic film’) and there are some obvious
religious references in the film such as temptation, sacrifice and eternal life.
State and church are personified by the priest who and at one point,
one of Vidal’s soldiers offers ‘daily bread’ to the local population a
benefit to life under fascism, although this
can be read as symbolising the link
between Franco and the church.
Some religious themes appear such as when Ofelia is punished and barred
from paradise because of giving in to temptation when she eats from the
Pale man’s table. The pale man himself possesses a stigmata in each hand
and the notion of sacrifice is explored in the film. Also there are certain uses
of iconography that are religious such as these images of St Lucy.
DISCUSSION TASK:
What do we know about Spain in terms of geography, climate and culture? What are our experiences
of the country?
When we see that a film is set in Spain, what are our expectations and how might they be affected by
the idea of a film set in 1944?
RESEARCH TASK
Research the details and nature of the key names, myths and mythological figures below.
Ofelia
Pan
Echo
Odysseus
Cyclops
Cronos
Saturn

16. Every time we watch a film, we are not seeing a reality but instead someone’s version of something
that they wish to portray to an audience. Representation can apply to almost all aspects of a film
whether the film is fiction or non-fiction, as the things that are presented on screen have been chosen
by the filmmakers for their own purposes and reasons. Therefore, what we see on screen refers to their
construction of a version of ‘reality’. As viewers and film students it is our ‘role’ to explore and analyse
how that representation has been constructed, referring to film form as often as possible.
A key thing to consider in terms of representation is the idea that it
can refer to people, places, or even broader ideas about how a
culture or ideology is portrayed on screen. In many cases the
person or place we see on screen may be the only example of that
person or place in the film and perhaps even our only experience
of that type of person or that place and therefore, this cam create
a certain ‘image’ or idea about a group of people or place.
Representation then, is very important as it provides an idea of
what some people or places are like, depending on how the filmmakers choose them to be on screen
and as a result, how the audience feels about those people or places.
In turn, this is the important of diversity in film and the media in general. Historically, film and media
industries have a very poor track-record in accurately representing diversity and the makeup of a the
real world, with white, male faces dominating American film. It has been said that
“Hollywood is the biggest exporter of culture, yet has long ignored the importance of diversity since
its creation”
and whilst diversity on screen and indeed in the roles behind the camera too, are improving, the
inherent cultural biases that have plagued the visual arts for over a century now have created a lasting
impression on audiences. Films can choose to explore gender, sexuality, race, culture and other
aspects of the real, living world, or it can choose to ignore these. In doing so, film does a disservice to
the real, diverse audience and as diversity and representation improves, albeit slowly, audiences are
afforded the opportunity to not only experience the perspectives, lives and beliefs of others, but to also
identify with those we see on screen.
REPRESENTATION
DISCUSSION TASK:
https://youtu.be/gNW-J0anyNc
Watch this featurette from the limited Netflix film, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7. Based on real
events, this montage offers interesting and illuminating insights into a range of people and institutions.
Who is represented through this clip and what does it suggest about them?

17. Representation involves three main stages; identify who or what is being represented, then how they
are being represented (broadly speaking, whether this is a positive or negative representation) and
finally how does the film create that specific representation using film language.
When exploring PAN’S LABYRINTH, you need to focus on the representation of, as a minimum, how
the film represents gender, ethnicity, age and different cultures.
As well as this, it’s important to be able to explain and explore how representation can create, and
play with, the idea of stereotypes. A stereotype is a commonly- held image of a person or group,
based on an overly-simplified or believed appearance or behaviour. The key here is the idea that a
stereotype is a form of representation but isn’t especially new, detailed or even accurate in some
cases.
RESEARCH TASK
Research how diversity in cinema has evolved over the last 10 years. Note key points and headlines
and be sure to reference facts and information accurately.
Find at least 2 clips from films that you are familiar with. For each, complete the following headings:
CLIP 1
1. Identify who or what is being represented
2. Explain, broadly speaking, whether this is a positive or negative representation with some examples
3. How does the film create that specific representation using film language?
CLIP 2
1. Identify who or what is being represented
2. Explain, broadly speaking, whether this is a positive or negative representation with some examples
3. How does the film create that specific representation using film language?

18. SUMMARY TASK
Social - aspects of society and its structure reflected in the film:
Cultural - aspects of culture – ways of living, beliefs and values of groups of people – reflected in
the film:
Historical - aspects of the society and culture at the time when films are made and, where relevant,
when they are set
Political - the way political issues, when relevant to the film chosen, are reflected in a film
Technological - the technologies reflected in a film's production and, in some cases, in its narrative
Institutional - how films are funded, how the level of production budget affects the kind of film
made and the main stages of film production.

19. POST VIEWING WORK:
FOLKLORE AND MYTHOLOGY
TASK 1:
Folklore and Mythology have always been of interest to del Toro and this interest has evolved
into a personal auteur signature within his work. In PAN’S LABYRINTH, this fascination can be
seen in the objects and creatures that inhabit Ofelia’s world.
Note down as many references to Folklore and mythology as you can find in the film.
TASK 2:
Then, for each, consider why del Toro chose to include these references and the significance of
these within the narrative of the film. You will need to refer to your previous research on
mythology and mythological creatures.
What effects do these references have on the viewer?
POST-VIEWING WORK

20. MISE-EN-SCENE
Discussion Tasks:
Try to write a short summation of the other elements of Mise-en-Scène in the film, to
include: setting, props, costume, staging, movement and off-screen space.
To accompany this, consider how mise-en-scène, including setting, props, costume and
make-up, can generate multiple connotations and suggest a range of possible
interpretations.
Explore how mise-en-scène conveys the key messages and values of the film.
TASK 1:
Try to write a short summation of the other elements of Mise-en-Scène in the film, to include:
setting, props, costume, staging, movement and off-screen space.
TASK 2:
To accompany this, consider how mise-en-scène, including setting, props, costume and make-up,
can generate multiple connotations and suggest a range of possible interpretations.
TASK 3:
Explore how mise-en-scène conveys the key messages and values of the film.

21. PRODUCTION DESIGN:
Discussion Tasks:
Try to write a short summation of the other elements of Mise-en-Scène in the film, to
include: setting, props, costume, staging, movement and off-screen space.
To accompany this, consider how mise-en-scène, including setting, props, costume and
make-up, can generate multiple connotations and suggest a range of possible
interpretations.
Explore how mise-en-scène conveys the key messages and values of the film.
TASK 1:
What is del Toro aiming to show his viewers through the production design in the film? Refer to at
least 2 scenes and consider a range of interpretations.
TASK 2:
Look carefully at the use of colour in a sequence of your choice. What is del Toro aiming to show
his viewers through his choice of colour? Consider a range of interpretations.
TASK 3:
Early on in the film we see very gothic production design in part via a remnant from an older
time, a ceremonial standing stone. This indicates that this film will unleash primal forces that will
haunt the present and derange it. How are primal forces presented later in the film?

22. CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Discussion Tasks:
Try to write a short summation of the other elements of Mise-en-Scène in the film, to
include: setting, props, costume, staging, movement and off-screen space.
To accompany this, consider how mise-en-scène, including setting, props, costume and
make-up, can generate multiple connotations and suggest a range of possible
interpretations.
Explore how mise-en-scène conveys the key messages and values of the film.
TASK 1:
Examine the fluidity of the camera work and the use of crane shot in the film. How do these
support the idea that the film is a fantasy? In what way does the camera indicate that we are
moving in-between the different worlds/ scenes? What effect does this cinematography have on
the viewer?
TASK 2:
There are significant differences in the uses of light and colour in the films two principle ‘realities’
(possibly three if we divide the ‘real’ world into that of the mill and that of the forest). Try to think
about what the difference in light means and where or around whom the darkness seems more
prevalent? What is del Toro aiming to show his viewers through the production design in the film?
Refer to at least 2 scenes and consider a range of interpretations.

23. EDITING:
TASK 1:
How does the editing in PAN’S LABYRINTH imply relationships between characters?
TASK 2:
In what way does editing contribute to the narrative and the development of the story? Try to
think of examples within the film where editing is used to blend Ofelia’s fantasy world with her
‘real’ life.
TASK 3:
Explore how the editing helps to convey meaning in the opening 5 miutes of the film.

24. SOUND
TASK 1:
Explore the ways in which the film uses sound in key aspects to help develop meaning and
reaction.
TASK 2:
How do vocal sounds of dialogue and narration provide information to the audience and what
does their use suggest or imply?
TASK 3:
How do ambient sounds, sound effects, Foley, music and/or silence contribute to meaning and
emphasise reaction?

25. ANALYSIS TASK 1
18:23 – 25:03
ANALYSIS TASK 2
55:50 -1:02:58

26. TASK: Make a range of detailed notes to support your analysis of the opening scene of PAN’S
LABYRINTH. To gain an idea of how detailed these should be, take a look at the pages below
where you will find notes that have been made in relation to the final scene from the film.
The opening scene 01:09 – https://youtu.be/H62oc7OqKYc
Mise-en-scene
KEY SCENE ANALYSIS

27. Cinematography

28. Sound
Editing

29. The ending scene 01:47:23 – https://youtu.be/woxSz7gT9lE
Mise-en-scene
• Vidal has lots of blood on his shirt.
• Ofelia is covered in blood, which stands out on her outfit
• She is in white clothing and has very pale skin to symbolise her innocence and purity,
therefore the blood implies this has been stolen from her. This represents the blood of the
innocents spilled under Franco’s Regime.
• The baby is also in white showing that its blood is also an option - it is innocence.
• The labyrinth has a very cool, dark desaturated color palette, with lots of teal.
• The fantasy world has a very warm, saturated and bright colour palette with lots of gold.
• It is styled to look like a church with the large stained glass windows, the seating and the
columns. Del Toro’s hatred of the church is not forgotten though as it goes back to the real
world and Ofelia’s death to show the church’s idea of paradise and heaven isn’t real.
• Ofelia’s red shoes resemble Dorothy’s from the Wizard of Oz, both in appearance and
movement. Intertextuality
• The columns can be seen as very phallic and the pattern on the floor uterine.
• The fire in the background blends fantasy and reality together, looking quite sunset-like and
heavenly.
• Vidal’s pocket-watch represents his control up until his death. He wants to try and keep
control over his child despite his imminent death. Mercedes steals this from his to show that
everything he has been working on has come to an end. It also follows in his father’s
footsteps
• The dagger and the pistol both represent death. It shows the blending of the fantasy and
real worlds because she has to spill blood either way. It also links the two worlds with
violence. Both represent penises due to the straightness of both of the weapons. It shows
Ofelias constant pressure from men
• The labyrinth now looks more dead that alive; it is in ruins.
• The windows on the left side of the frame mirror what we see in the Pale man sequence.
• Action code - The shot we see right at the start of the film (the enigma code) is explained by
the nose bleed we see here.
• The film can be said to be a circular narrative as we start and end at the same place.

30. Cinematography
• The crane shot of the entrance establish the entrance to the labyrinth. The shot ends on the
face to give the following events a sinister undertone.
• Vidal is following Ofelia making him seem like a monster, linking to the pale man dude to
his struggle to walk.
• The whole chase scene is shot on steadicam, which is very unusual but synonymous with Del
Toro’s style in the rest of the film. It makes the chase seem more fantasy that it normally
should.
• The conversation is shot down at Ofelia and up at the Faun to show him trying to overpower
her.
• The close ups on the Faun’s face come closer and closer to more angry he gets with Ofelia’s
disobedience.
• In the OTS shot from the Faun we see him and Vidal, but then in the POV shot from Vidal,
the Faun is not there. It shows that Vidal cant see the Faun and makes us question the reality
of all of these creatures and the fantasy world that Ofelia experiences.
• OTS shot of Vidal in shot from such a high angle to make Ofelia seem so weak. He towers
over Ofelia and his baby. It symbolises Franco and fascism towering over the majority of the
Spanish population during the civil war.
• The moon in the background, which the blood is dropping onto, emphasises the completion
of the task, as well as being traditionally fairytale. It can be linked to pagan beliefs.
• CU shot of Ofelia as she dies. The blood is in the foreground but out of focus, making it
seem like there is more blood than there actually is due to the bokeh.
• Slight alteration is the way we see Vidal. He is shot from a gradually higher angle.
• Long shot of the rebels/Medium shot of Vidal tracks following him. Causes a sense of Defeat
as he has no option. He is outnumbered by a long way. Everything that Vidal once stood for
is coming to an end. The individual is defeated by the masses.
• Medium of the watch shows the significance of the time. It is a recurring. Motif throughout
the film
• Gold light when Ofelia’s dead shows her dipping to
• CU of Vidal’s face with the bullet hole is prolonged related to vitals torture earlier. It
Although he isn’t being tortured, Vidal is getting what he deserves.
• CU of the shoes. She is on the tiled floor with straight lines to show that she is still being
dominated by men.
• In all of the last 3 shots, the fantasy elements of the shot are matched between shots: The
portal, the fig tree, the flower. It shows the fantasy throughout the real world, and that all
these things are linked.
Editing
• Lots of ‘Shot reverse shot’ at the start of the sequence
• Cross-cutting between Vidal and Ofelia when he stops to build tension, reminding you that
Ofelia still needs to keep running in order to escape Vidal, even though he has stopped.
Emphasises the weakness in his character.
• Shot length is long at the start of the scene, so it can be decreased to build tension.
• Cuts closer and closer when they are arguing : swaps on each. Cuts to Ofelia only near the
end - emotion over info

31. • Shot length decreases as the chase ensues in order to build the tension and pace of the
sequence.
• There is a dissolve into the labyrinth once Vidal dies to show that the battle is over; there is
peace. This is placed on a track to make it more inconspicuous.
• Dissolves are mainly on tracks, but always on camera movement.
• There is a fade to gold and back to show she has made the transition to the fantasy realm.
The fade begins with a bloom around the highlights and a slight blur, emphasising that
Ofelia is ‘dipping to heaven’ rather than just a fade.
• This occurs again to show her exiting the fantasy world and reentering reality.
• At the very end of the scene, all edits are dissolves to show they are finally at peace; both
Ofelia and her inner peace and the war has reached peace.
• Shots length reaches its longest to add to this.
• Continuity editing throughout.
• Del Toro makes the decision not to end the film in the fantasy world. Shows Ofelia’s
everlasting impact on the real world. Represents Ofelia’s rebirth. Implies perhaps that the
fantasy world doesn’t exist; its just in Ofelia’s head.
• CGI use when The Wall opens to give Ofelia a quick route through the labyrinth. Looks out
of place in the film? CGI used to create Vidal’s eye rolling back when he has been shot?
• There is (presumably CGI) fire in the back of shot outside the maze to show the aftermath of
the battle.
Sound
• Most of the sound is parallel to the visuals
• Tense music on the chase scene to build tension
• Shiny sound when the Faun pulls the dagger out shows its significance; this is how Ofelia is
going to reach the fantasy world. Sharp and uncomfortable
• Gunshot sound effect signifies Ofelia’s death
• When Vidal puts his hand on Ofelia, the lullaby in the background speeds up to build
tension and panic. When Ofelia dies, it slows down, representing her death.
• Ofelia’s breathing is amplified to show her fear, and how she is nearing death.
• Vidal’s breathing builds tension as it sounds like her is right behind her. Makes him seem
monstrous
• Mercedes’ lullaby is contrapuntal to the visuals. They are usually sung to people who are
going to sleep and in a way she is sleeping eternally. The
• Sound bridge - Mercedes’ lullaby comes back in before we leave the fantasy to show how
much the two worlds are blurring together.
• Whoosh sound effect on the fade to the Fantasy make it seem like Ofelia is
• The voiceover narration at the end completes the story. Also mirrors the beginning.

32. TASK: Now select a scene of your choice-this should be a minimum of 2 mins long, and ideally no
longer than 8 mins at MOST and make notes on the core aspects of film form below. Use the
headings below and use at least the space on the page below to make these notes but feel free to
use more. A range of scenes are available for you to consider here:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeNerb9lxe3l0Ls8cFNtztUcb5u2gkBxW
• Mise-en-scene including production design
• Cinematography
• Sound
• Editing

33. CONTINUATION OF THE TASK: Make a range of detailed notes to support your analysis of a
scene of your choice from PAN’S LABYRINTH.

34. Cinematography – The opening Sequence:
01:23: The camera zooms into an ECU of Ofelia’s eye and beyond into the black of her pupil.
The male narration has a fairy tale styling and we are literally transported, through the zoom and
a cross dissolve, into the magical faery kingdom. The suggestion is of course that this world is in
Ofelia’s mind…’A world where there are no lies and no pain.’ The blue filter is both otherworldly
and cold – befitting the death of a young girl.
02:25: ELS. Stark contrast with the ethereal blue shots of the previous scenes we are in ‘another
place, at another time’. The ruins of a church speak of the violence that has engulfed the hot,
parched, sun-baked landscape. Ofelia’s ominous entourage arrives in the region.
02:41: The first medium two shot. Ofelia and her mum (Carmen). Mum is sickly and pregnant.
POV shot shows that Ofelia is immersed in a fairy story. Later in the film her mum will tell Ofelia
that life is not like fairy stories and that she will have to grow up.
05:21: The first shot of Captain Vidal is preceded
by his watch. His punctilious, preening precision is
mirrored in this watch. It was his father’s, a
famous general, and the glass was shattered as he
went into battle and died. The watch is then a
symbol of Vidal’s macho need to ape his father’s
bravery as well as evidence of his own
fastidiousness. His attention to detail however
involves more than just repairing watches
(something we see him do later in the film) – it has a darker connotation in the torture scenes
where he clearly delights in the sickening tools of the torturers trade such as skewers and pliers.
MISE-EN-SCENE
Del Toro has fashioned a reputation for a detailed and idiosyncratic approach to mise-en-scène.
Most of his production designs originate from sketch work that he produces in notebooks. He is
consequently someone who prefers the physicality of animatronics and model work to CGI. As the
film received Oscars for its Make-up and Production Design we’ll focus here on these areas:
Make up:
21:11 - The first close-up of the Fawn in the center of the ancient
Labyrinth. It is he who acts as Ofelia’s guide and Proppian
dispatcher/donor. He tells Ofelia that she is in fact, Princess Moanna,
daughter of the King and Queen of the Underworld. The Labyrinth is
the last remaining portal between that kingdom and her current reality.
In order to pass through the portal and prove that she has not become
entirely mortal, she needs to complete three tasks – all of which will
appear before the full moon in a magical book called the Book of
Crossroads. Later he is revealed as the benign advisor of the Fairy King and Queen. However,
throughout most of the movie we are never quite sure of his intentions. The sinister blue light seen
above certainly develops this idea of his possible malignity. The makeup and design work is
clearly remarkable.
NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

35. 57:31 - The standout sequence in the film is that involving the monstrous Pale Man who, woken by
Ofelia’s transgression, chases her from his lair. The use of make-up and CGI achieves a truly
terrifying creation. This first close-up of the Pale Man who is seeing Ofelia for the first time is truly
horrifying – not least because of the eerie juxtaposition of eyes in hands. The fact that the Pale
Man later devours two cute fairies makes him even more detestable.
Production Design:
04:45: The first proper hint of a gothic production design – a
remnant from an older time, a ceremonial standing stone,
indicates that this film will unleash primal forces that will haunt
the present and derange it. Ofelia gives the stone its right eye
back (having found it in the path nearby) and an insect – a very
large cricket emerges from its stone mouth. The insect will later
transform into a Fairy.
18:37: The locust that has been following Ofelia since the start of the film transforms into a friendly
Fairy. Now we know the movie is a magical-realist text – having just witnessed sickeningly violent
murder, we are now in the land of make-believe. Note the other worldly blue suggests that Ofelia
may be asleep in her mother’s arms.
34:49: Ofelia completes her first task – dealing with a giant toad that lives under a great tree in
the forest. The model of the toad is particularly realistic and visceral – fitting Ofelia’s descent into
the mud and ooze underground. Del Toro voiced some of the sounds of the Toad himself and
similar animatronics and CGI was used in the construction of the Fawn, The Pale Man, and the
Mandrake.
EDITING
The styling of the editing is conventional although a number of diegetic wipes are used or cross-
dissolves to and from black – thus forging a link between the real and the fantasy world. One
example of this is when Ofelia, in close up lying on her mum’s tummy, tells a story to her as yet
unborn brother and the shot literally tracks into the womb.
Consider how the editing in Pan’s Labyrinth implies relationships between characters and
contributes to narrative development. Try to think of other examples within the film where editing
is used successfully to blend Ofelia’s fantasy world with her real life.
SOUND
16:13: A gruesome murder. Captain Vidal executes two farmers
(possibly rebels). The first is killed brutally with the base of a glass
bottle – supposedly based on a bar fight Del Toro had once
witnessed. Shot in sinister low-key light this is our first insight into
Vidal’s brutally violent and psychotic character. Prior to this we
have seen him as an emotionally cold man, austere and stiff, but
this level of violence comes at the spectator from nowhere and is
profoundly shocking. It is also a harbinger of the extreme violence that will follow in some scenes
– in particular those involving Vidal. As with all scenes of violence it is the sound design
(sweetened in post-production) that adds to the horror of the event depicted.

36. In order to begin to think about the representations in PAN’S LABYRINTH it is worth thinking about the
film as two separate spaces: the world created by Ofelia and the one inhabited/dominated by Vidal.
This world can also be split into two distinct areas, the Mill and the Woods. The film is essentially
highly ambiguous and can be read in many different ways, giving you the option of several different
symbolic or metaphorical readings of character, locations or objects. When examining your notes and
in our discussions, think about the different uses of mise-en-scène that create these different worlds.
Look at these different uses of colour, objects and even framing and try to consider these as possessing
representational meanings. In terms of this film, consider representation of Gender, Age, Ethnicity and
Nationality. Some notes are provided below to prompt your own ideas.
Representations: Gender
• There is a clear binary
opposite in terms of the
representation of gender at work
in the film. Captain Vidal is
obsessed by his father’s military
exploits and is equally
determined that his own son (he
refuses to believe the child can be anything other than a male) is born close to him. The health of his
sick wife is of only secondary importance. Indeed, he scolds her for discussing their romance in public
and is equally dismissive of his step-daughter, Ofelia. The final scene where he tells the rebels who will
soon execute him that his son must know who he was and (a reference to his own father – what time
he died) shows the final exhaustion of the patriarchy he represents, as Mercedes tells him that his son
will never know who he was.
• Vidal’s self-loathing (never quite able to step out
from the shadow cast by his father) is most evident when
he commits metaphorical suicide by cutting his
reflection’s throat. The broken face of his watch (which
he has just glanced at) is also suggestive of his own
broken identity – an immaculate and precise mechanism
but flawed. The fact that Mercedes will later slit his
mouth open, and that he will be shot just below his right
eye, are all mirroring scenes, reflecting the precise
deconstruction of the watch face and his own.
• The main women in the film, Ofelia, Carmen and Mercedes all suffer
at the hands of patriarchy. When Mercedes is caught by Vidal towards
the end of the film Vidal laughs at the suggestion that he should not be
left alone with her – ‘She is just a Woman!’ Mercedes then replies that
she was able to support the rebels precisely because she was ‘invisible’
to Vidal. Later Ofelia is killed by her step-father for stealing his son and
defying him and Carmen dies in child birth unmourned by her new
husband. Only Mercedes triumphs in the end through her ingenuity and bravery and through her love
for her brother. However, her final scene is one of profound grief as she holds the dying Ofelia in her
arms and weeps for the loss of childish innocence at the hands of a brutalising patriarchy.
Discussion ideas:
To what extent does Vidal dismiss femininity?
Try to identify where you think this happens in
the film. These can be direct interactions with
the female characters or more metaphorical
representations of femininity.
Discussion ideas:
There are three principle female
characters in the film, these are: Ofelia,
her mother Carmen, and the
housekeeper Mercedes. Consider how
each of these characters may represent
stages or types of femininity and what
each of them represent in terms of gender.
REPRESENTATION

37. TASK: Analyse how gender is represented in PAN’S LABYRINTH
QUICK CONTEXT:
Women in the anti-fascist forces played a pivotal role in resisting Franco which included fighting on the
front lines a tradition that is carried on in the film through the character of Mercedes.
The role of women in Franco’s Spain was very much reduced. Women’s status of wives and carers had
reduced then to second-class citizens in the ‘New Nation’. These social expectations of women are
echoed in the actions and attitudes of Vidal himself the physical manifestation of Franco’s New Nation.
The way he controls, dismisses or simply ignores all things female in his world. He resents both Ofelia
and Carmen (the latter he regards as little less than a vessel that carries his unborn son), preferring to
live away from the family unit.

38. TASK: Analyse how age is represented in PAN’S LABYRINTH
Age:
• Perhaps the key aspect of representation here is that
of age, especially given that, generally speaking, we see the
world of the film split in two, that of fantasy and reality.
However, we only really see the fantasy world from the
perspective of Ofelia, a child. Therefore, the representation
of age suggests on one level, naivety of youth, or
alternatively, how children have an innate imagination that
can be used to escape the harsh realities of the real world.
• In the Pale Man’s lair, we see a chilling
shallow focus close-up of all the shoes of the
Pale Man’s victims. Such an image evokes
comparisons with scenes from the Nazi
death camps and combined with other
images such as the murals of The Pale Man
devouring babies and of course the
sumptuous banquet that cannot be touched
we are left in little doubt that this
representation of a fantasy monster can also be read as a critique of a ruling elite (perhaps the
Church) which systematically and brutally crushes innocence and life. Youth is clearly at odds with
the adult world in this film – fantasy is perhaps the only escape.
• There is an interesting point around age when we consider Vidal
as the ‘pivot’ in terms of selfishness. The soldiers below Vidal in
rank are generally younger and general inept despite their desire
to please Vidal. Ofelia as a young person is of course naïve to the
world and lead by her own desires. Doctor Ferriro however, as an
older character, perhaps represents the idea of ‘mellowing’ in an older age, that the older we
become the less ‘fire’ we have and instead adopt a more empathetic, less selfish attitude.
Discussion points:
How are the older characters represented in Pan’s
Labyrinth in relation to young Ofelia? How does del
Toro show youth to be at ‘odds with the adult world’
in this film? Identify specific scenes where we see
young and old collide and examine how these
representations have been constructed using the key
elements of film form.

39. TASK: Analyse how ethnicity / nationality is represented in PAN’S LABYRINTH
Ethnicity / Nationality
• There are no multi-ethnic representations in the
film which is excusable given its setting in Northern
Spain in 1944 however the representation of
nationality is absolutely foreground. The Falangist’s
(supporters of the dictator, Franco) are aligned to
corrupt officialdom, a morally bankrupt church and a
sadistic and brutal military (no prisoners are ever
taken – headshots to the wounded being the preferred
means of dispatch – and if they are captured, they are then sadistically tortured). Vidal alone
executes his step-daughter, a doctor, two farmers and an injured rebel as well as torturing and
taunting a captured rebel with a stutter – ‘Count to three without stuttering and I’ll free you.’ Our
sympathies are absolutely aligned with the rebels who are depicted as compassionate and
comradely – as much a simplification as that of the Falangist’s as anyone who has read Orwell’s
Homage to Catalonia will know. However this is not a realist film and Del Toro is clearly outraged
by fascism, dictatorships, militarism, propaganda and patriarchy – all enemies of the imagination
as much as anything else. As the doctor says to
Captain Vidal just before Vidal shoots him: ‘To
obey… for the sake of obeying, without
questioning, that’s something only people like
you can do, Captain.’ The Spanish rebels are
thus depicted as a significantly more
humanised, freedom loving and empathetic
group of democrats.
Discussion Task
Explore the ways that del Toro uses
cinematography, mise-en-scène and performance
to present the differences between the Falangist’s
and the Spanish rebels in the film. Give specific
examples from specific scenes or sequences to
support your views.

40. A core aspect of production design and overall aesthetic of the film is the production design and
use of cinematography in creating distinct locales.
For each of the locations below explore how the location, plus the design of each, reflects core
ideas and values of the film. Some ideas and a screenshot is provided to give some inspiration.
THE FANTASY PALACE
The entire palace bears the shape of a vesica piscis. This is an ancient symbol meaning ‘creation’
an ancient occult symbol representing the vulva of goddesses, the entrance to the womb and the
gateway to another world.
LOCATIONS

41. THE WOODS/LABYRINTH ENTRANCE
Here we technically have two areas so consider them as such, but also consider what they
represent too. For the woods for example, consider how it is an area of nature, not of creation by
man and ideas relating to pastoral scenes. Note how the colours reflect this and perhaps how the
natural, ambient lighting also makes this clear, but also has a similar tone to that of the final
palace. Also consider how the archway works as an entrance to ‘another’ world and therefore
how the style of the two locations look different.

42. THE MILL/VIDAL’S ‘OFFICE’
The idea of a mill, a building with machinery for processing and especially for grinding grain into
flour, is one that shows man’s dominance over nature and our ability to create in order to destroy.
The machinery needed to do this is present in the shot here and may offer some relevant
metaphors, but it’s the colours and the relatively sparse production design that stands out.
Consider how the mise-en-scene here may reflect ideas relating to Vidal and what he stands for,
especially in relation to what the values and messages the film has.

43. THE PALE MAN’S BANQUET
Not strictly a location, more of a scene, but the setting we can see is still worthy of analysis. The
‘nature’ of the colours are worth exploring here, both in terms of what they symbolise and also the
overall choice of colours in terms of creating a palette. Similarly, the light from the fire provides a
certain glow and we can then perhaps explore the mise-en-scene in terms of referring to parables
of Persephone and Adam and Eve.

44. This section of the exam will look something like the below. Note that you need to choose (and
probably identify) your films and then choose your question.
However, for the purposes of this part of the course we’ll be answering on just one question for
now and as we’ll be looking at just one film for the moment, your work will be marked (mostly by
yourself!) out of 20. The overall structure of this response may also be different from your final
response as we’re just working on one film for now.
TASK: On separate paper, spend 30 minutes answering the question:
ESSAY QUESTIONS

45. TASK: Look closely at your completed essay. Highlight your writing showing where you have
included each of these crucial elements:
• Micro-analysis of an example from a film. Essentially saying a lot about a very small
element of the film.
• Contextual issues that arise (historical/social/political)
• Reference to aesthetic influences and the significance of these
• Relevant quotations from the director
• Links back to the question that you are answering.
TASK: Now have a look at the opening paragraph below. Highlight this is in a similar way to your
own work. Is there anything that you would improve?
TASK: Now choose a paragraph from your essay to re-write. Aim to include all of the elements
suggested above.
TASK: Finally, ask someone else to read your work and tick the relevant boxes below:
LIMITED BASIC SATISFACTORY GOOD EXCELLENT
Knowledge of film form identfied in question
Understanding of how film form creates meaning
Links to audience and meaning
Exploration and inegration of relevant context
The Pale Man sequence is by far one of the most memorable of the film due to the use of harrowing
mise-en-scene. The second of Ofelia’s challenges introduces the audience to the gruesome monster that
is the Pale Man. Before we are shown the character himself, however, del Toro shows Ofelia’s
vulnerability by using a slow tracking shot which moves from a close up of Ofelia in her chalked
doorway to a long shot of Ofelia at the entrance to a vast corridor. Ofelia, once in charge of her
entrance into the fantasy world has become very small within the Pale Man’s domain. The setting of the
entrance to the Pale Man’s dining room is made to feel deliberately claustrophobic with the high ceilings
but very narrow stone walls, this instantly creates a feeling of unease for the viewer. The colour palette
of deep reds on the walls of corridor evoke a sense of danger at what Ofelia is about to face.
Alongside this, the walls give the impression of human tissue, glistening and textured. This may suggest
that Ofelia is inside a monstrous lair or it may seek to remind the viewer that in order for Ofelia to
return to the safety’ of her underground realm, she has not choice but to complete the task that lies
ahead. The placing of angular lines along the floor of the set, in combination with the softer rounded
shapes towards the ceiling perhaps implies that the young female is about to step down into a masculine
world, dominated by a monster, much like she faces everyday in the real world. The opening of this
sequence clearly shows the audience that Ofelia is trapped, both within the Pale Man’s lair until her
challenge is complete, but also in her real world existence in 1944 Spain, she cannot escape the
brutality of the real world and will further face this brutality in the Pale Man’s lair.

46. RAG YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING – PAN’S LABYRINTH
CONTEXT
TASK RED AMBER GREEN COMMENT ON GREEN/ACTION PLAN TO GET
TO GREEN
READ FACTFILE
INITIAL TASKS
REASEARCH TEQUILA GANG
PRODUCTION HISTORY– WATCH VIDEOS
PRODUCTION HISTORY - QUESTIONS
READ RELEASE & CRITICAL RECEPTION
RESEARCH REVIEW ON FILM
SPANISH CIVIL WAR RESEARCH TASK
DISCUSSION TASK: FILM MONSTERS
OPINION TASK: MONSTERS IN PL
READ AESTHETIC INFLUENCES
RESEARCH TASK: MOOD BOARD
READ MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION
DISCUSSION: SPAIN
RESEARCH TASK: NAMES & MYTHS
READ REPRESENTATION
DISCUSSION TASK: REPRESENTATION
RESEARCH TASK: REPRESENTATION
SUMMARY TASK
THE FILM AND ANALYSIS
TASK RED AMBER GREEN COMMENT ON GREEN/ACTION PLAN TO GET
TO GREEN
FOLKLORE AND MYTHOLOGY
TASK 1
TASK 2
MISE-EN-SCENE
TASK 1
TASK 2
TASK 3
PRODUCTION DESIGN
TASK 1
TASK 2
TASK 3
CINEMATOGRAPHY
TASK 1
TASK 2
EDITING
TASK 1
TASK 2
TASK 3
SOUND
TASK 1
TASK 2
TASK 3

47. ANALYSIS TASK 1
ANALYSIS TASK 2
KEY SCENE ANALYSIS
TASK RED AMBER GREEN COMMENT ON GREEN/ACTION PLAN TO GET TO GREEN
OPENING SCENE
MISE-EN-SCENE
CINEMATOGRAPHY
SOUND
EDITING
ENDING SCENE
READ NOTES & ANNOTATE
MISE-EN-SCENE
CINEMATOGRAPHY
SOUND
EDITING
OWN CHOICE OF SCENE
MISE-EN-SCENE
CINEMATOGRAPHY
SOUND
EDITING
REPRESENTATION
TASK RED AMBER GREEN COMMENT ON GREEN/ACTION PLAN TO GET TO GREEN
GENDER
READ SECTION
2 DISCUSSION IDEAS
TASK ON GENDER
AGE
READ SECTION
DISCUSSION IDEAS
TASK ON AGE
ETHNICITY/NATIONALITY
READ SECTION
DISCUSSION IDEA
TASK ON ETHINICITY
LOCATIONS
TASK RED AMBER GREEN COMMENT ON GREEN/ACTION PLAN TO GET TO GREEN
FANTASY PALACE
THE WOODS
THE MILL
PALE MAN’S BANQUET
ESSAY QUESTIONS
TASK RED AMBER GREEN COMMENT ON GREEN/ACTION PLAN TO GET TO GREEN
WRITE ESSAY ANSWER
SELF ASSESSMENT TASK 1
SELF ASSESSMENT TASK 2
SELF ASSESSMENT TASK 3