Imagery in Pan's Labyrinth - Seminole Cinema: SEHS Film - Home



IB Film 2W53.2: Special Effects and SymbolismHere is something really interesting.Take a look at one of del Toro’s houses in Los Angeles, California where he finds inspiration for his ideas and visions.Watch This: of the most appealing aspects of film is how it creates entirely new worlds for the audience.From its earliest days—as you have seen—with films like?The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari?(1920) and?Nosferatu?(1922), movies have placed their audiences in living worlds of motion that previously could only have been imagined while reading a book, or when looking at a painting.Film makes these worlds seem real and inhabited by fascinating characters, at least while we are sitting in the cinema.This capability of film, its capacity to create spectacle, is seen as both a positive and a negative attraction by audiences.Often, critics find special effects a distraction that diminishes the power of drama and the immediacy of the actors performances.At times, the ability to create other worlds is seen as 'escapism',?a mode of storytelling in which the main value is it allows audiences to forget their current problems and enter a new world for a brief time.The Cabinet of Dr. CaligariHowever you ultimately feel about that question, it is useful to challenge the assumption that special effects exist only as a distraction, an element of film that may entertain us, but which usually direct us away from important issues.Consider?The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari?and its incredible expressionistic sets. Quite literally, these formed the mindscape of the main character. To be immersed in them was an experience like being immersed in the dreamscapes of?Inception?(2010).In the case of films like this, the setting is an extension of the inner lives of the characters and serves to reveal things about them they might not otherwise reveal themselves.The setting can also be a metaphor, as it was in?Metropolis?(1927), in which the division between rich and poor was made literal by the gigantic towers where the rich lived far above the workers toiling in the underground passages of the city. In this case, the environment created by special effects reflected the theme of the film.Nosferatu and FrankensteinOf course, special effects do more than simply create environments. Actors themselves are changed before our eyes. Consider the makeup in?Nosferatu?(1922),?Frankenstein?(1931), and?Bride of Frankenstein?(1935).In each case, the physicalization of an idea made the film richer for the audience, whether it was the rat-like, hungry appearance of Max Shrek as a vampire, the bolts and flathead of the Frankenstein monster that help explain the technological details of his creation, or the 'almost-beauty makeup'?appearance of the Bride, which make us question our notions of what is attractive and what is ugly.Like any aspect of the image - camera angle, lighting, props, set - special effects are part of the mise-en-scene.They can advance the structure of the plot, reveal details and background, and, most importantly, function as symbols.In fact, the fantastic details created by special effects probably function most often as metaphors or symbols.Watch This:, this is a question that might be asked of all films, spectacles and otherwise -?What is the value of a movie?Should a film focus us on real world problems and stimulate us to think about how to make the world better, or is the value of film in allowing us to be entertained and amused, released from the problems we confront?This question can be asked of almost all the arts, of course. Ultimately, what is the value of an art form?In the case of?Pan's Labyrinth?(2006), the makeup, animatronics, and CGI used in the film to create the settings and the magical creatures who are central to Ofelia's story, are essential to creating meaning in the film.Watch This:, there is the labyrinth itself.?Read the interview with del Toro?by Rebecca Murray.Read -?Guillermo del Toro Talks About Pan's LabyrinthLike many directors, Guillermo del Toro keeps notebooks that contain written ideas and sketches to help him develop his ideas. See the genesis of?Pan's Labyrinth?and del Toro's creative process through his sketches in this Guardian article.Read -?Pan's PeopleImagery in Pan's LabyrinthFor Guillermo del Toro, the labyrinth represented the movement of Ofelia toward her own center.In del Toro's conception, Ofelia's inner 'fantasy'?reality is real.ColorColor was an important part of the special effects.At the beginning, the director put up a big board to color-code the movie for three key departments.Ofelia's fantasy world featured mainly warm colors, in del Toro's words -"deep crimsons and golden ambers, almost like amniotic fluids."The harsh reality represented by Vidal and his troops is coded in -"cold hues of blue and green."As the story unfolds, the colors bridge over and rub together.CharactersJust as the setting is vitally important for the meaning of the film, so are the characters.In discussing the 'Pale Man',?with eyes in his hand, del Toro says -"The Pale Man represents the Church for me.He represents fascism and the Church eating the children when they have a perversely abundant banquet in front of them.There is almost a hunger to eat innocence.A hunger to eat purity."Obviously, the design of the Pale Man, with a face dominated by his mouth?with no eyes, reinforces this idea of hunger.Sub-plotYou might want to consider where and how you want to develop your ideas.Though there are many forms of technology available, a simple notebook goes anywhere easily.Imagination and ChangeIn talking about the ending of the film, del Toro quotes philosopher Soren Kierkegaard and says -"A?tyrant's reign ends with his death, but a martyr's reign starts with his death.I think that is the essence of the movie: It's about living forever by choosing how you die."Just as Ofelia's fantasy world empowers her and allows her to rise above the madness of the real world around her, special effects have allowed our imaginations to soar, carrying us on journeys that have changed who we are and how we felt about the world.Ultimately, it is our imaginations that change the 'real'?world. ................
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