Grace's Film Studies Blog

In this essay I will be exploring the cinematography and mise en scene of two scenes from the 2006 film, Pan's Labyrinth, by Guillermo del Toro. The two scenes that I will be comparing will be the Pale Man scene, where Ofelia meets the horrifying Pale Man, and the dinner scene, where Captain Vidal hosts a dinner party for his colleagues. In the Pale Man scene, the cinematography practically mirrors the cinematography in the dinner scene with the Pale Man sitting at the head of the table, which is exactly where Vidal sat in the dinner scene. The mise en scene of the Pale Man scene suggests that the Pale Man is a monster because on the walls of the room there are illustrations of the creature eating and murdering children, also the costume and make-up used to turn Doug Jones into the Pale Man looks physically disgusting and scary. In addition, throughout the scene and whole film there are constant references to circles and eyes, circles being a reference to the type of narrative th

A narrative which portrays a conflict between two central characters. Willow and Lilith are complete opposites. Willow a normal, innocent, happy teenager meets Lilith a girl with a malevolent side to her. In the film we meet both the characters, and later see the series of events which take place. Camera shots Close up - We see Lilith at the beginning as she looks down at Willow the camera is zoomed in to Lilith's face.  POV - Lilith kicks Willow's head and we see the attack from Willow's POV Extreme close up - When Willow escapes from the 'cell' Long shot - At the end willow is seen looking frightened, at this point the camera is quite far back giving a long shot perspective.  High shot - Willow is lying vulnerable of the floor, looking up at Lilith Low shot - Lilith is looking down at Willow while she is lying on the floor Sound  Diegetic - Foot steps,               - Leaves and sticks,               - Wind,    

Willow Hunter is an everyday teen that has an ambition to be a successful nature photographer. On one of her photography outings something unexpected happens. She gets kidnapped and ends up in the middle of nowhere. With her kidnapper Lilith Sinner not in sight, she makes her escape. When she breaks out of her 'cell' she notices the inky black sky and realises she must have been unconscious for hours. As she is finally excepting her surroundings as real, she sees a mysterious figure moving in the darkness so she sets off. Willow’s heart beats loudly as her legs become weak. Willow finally comes to a clearing where she thinks it is safe but is she? Can Willow escape her kidnapper and pursue her photography dream or will her dream die alongside herself?