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  • Essay / Pan's Labyrinth: cultural context and elements of the film

    The extract I have chosen is taken from the film Pan's Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro and I will analyze it in terms of its social, geographical context and historical, then focus on how it uses cinematography, sound, editing, genre, mise-en-scene, symbols, narrative structure, themes and motifs. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Pan's Labyrinth takes place between 1936 and 1939, during the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish Civil War was a military revolt against the Republican government of Spain, supported by conservative elements in the country. The Nationalists, as the rebels were called, received help from Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. In the film, there was a moment where we heard the rebels being called communists. The Republicans received help from the Soviet Union, as well as the International Brigades, made up of volunteers from Europe and the United States. The Republicans were the captain and his army. The geographical location of origin of the film is in Spain. To be more precise, these are the forests. It was near a water source, it looked like a river. In cinematic politics which plays a huge role in the film, there was the captain and his army who are made to look like villains. Which leads viewers to resent them, especially when they attack the rebels who are nationalists, who simply give the impression of wanting to free their people from government oppression. Viewers immediately feel sympathetic as the rebels are killed in the woods. Also for Mercedes who just have to stand there and see things happen. The film makes the rebels seem like victims and the captain and his army like monsters without morals. The rebels' view of the Republicans. In the film the difference between social classes was very evident, especially in my clip of the captain's mansion, he had maids and a snake who did the work he needed, like preparing meals and cleaning the place. House. He had people clean the sheets when Ofelia's mother was bleeding during childbirth. The people at the top of the social hierarchy are mostly wealthy people or high-ranking military personnel. I also noticed that there were different statuses regarding gender when Ofelia's mother was telling the people at the store how she met the captain, he put it aside and said that she didn't know what she was talking about. Additionally, most housekeepers and servants were mostly women. While the men were more military and people in power who were at the dinner table. The economic status of the film's characters varies. Ofelia and her mother may have a not-so-rich lifestyle. His mother was a shoemaker and took over the business after her husband's death. So this kind of lifestyle was new to her and Ofelia. There were also the servants and the Mercedes who wore humble servant clothes compared to the classy and pretty clothes of the captain and his rich friends. The rebel had clothes that looked old and patched up compared to the wealthy characters in the film. The captain had the highest economic status in the movie, he had a mansion, a servant and a bunch of expensive items inside the mansion. Del Toro has stated that he considers the story to be a parable, influenced by fairy tales, and that it addresses and continues themes related to his previous film The Devil's Backbone (2001), of whichPan's Labyrinth is a spiritual successor, according to del Toro in its director's DVD commentary. In the film, the staging of Pan's Labyrinth is a large part of the film. Mise en scene is the arrangement of settings and stage properties in a film. There are a lot of intentional things that they do throughout these films, for example the rule of thirds is used a lot to draw the audience's attention to the character's face and pay attention to the emotion on their face. There was one part of the movie where it was used, which was when the captain was talking with the doctor after finding out that he was working with these rebels. When the captain confronted him, he was in the upper right third of the shot. It was a great way for the film to capture the anger and malice expressed on the captain's face. In the same scene, it was one of the best moments in the movie in which their best use of lightning was how they lit the captain's face, half of his face was in the light, the other half was not was not. He had the feeling of the lighted part of his face, which is what everyone sees on the surface, and the dark part was everything below the surface. How he feels inside because of what the doctor did. The film's use of color was astonishing, finding the right color for each situation and immersing viewers deeper into the story and its world. There were three times in the movie where the captain kills people and the shot is in a blue tint. In my excerpt, the captain kills the doctor and this helps to reinforce the feeling of sadness he evokes because he is a kind character who is only trying to help others. It's also raining in the race in the scene, which just adds to it. The film also uses extensive special effects for all of the monsters and creatures in Ofelia's magical world. The fairy is one of the first to be introduced. The social effects seemed very advanced and well done. Another movie that also has a great special effect is Paddington, they both share this in common. The rest that Pan's Labyrinth got from reviews was mostly positive, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 95%. Based on reviews from 37 critics, it received a score of 98/100 at Metacritic. Mark Kermode in The Observer also called Pan's Labyrinth the best film of 2006, describing it as "an epic, poetic vision in which the dark realities of war are reflected in a descent into an underworld populated by monsters of 'a frightening beauty'. In the film, there were lots of motifs like the watch, the faun, the maze, the chalk. When we are first introduced to Captain Vidal, we see him look at the watch then sullenly mutter that she and Ofelia are 15 minutes late. This moment perfectly captured his entire character throughout the film. The captain likes things to be exact and in order. He also wants everything to be under his control, depending on my mentality or not. He also wants everything to happen in His time and exactly as He has indicated. The watch also symbolizes his attachment to his pride which was passed on to him by his father who hit him on a rock before dying fighting in the army. The name of the film, Pan's Labyrinth, refers to the Greek mythological god Pan. In Greek mythology Pan is the god of nature, shepherds and flocks. The film depicts the Roman mythological version which is called Faun. It is in the Faun's labyrinth that the main protagonist, Ofelia, gets lost. Even though Mercedes warns her not to enter the maze, she does so and dies in the process. In addition to this, the faun..