Pan's Labyrinth Assignment How Do Film Techniques Create Meaning?

Pan's Labyrinth Assignment

 How Do Film Techniques Create Meaning? 

Pans Labyrinth (2006) Directed by Guillermo del Toro stars Ivana Barquero as Ofelia In falangist Spain in 1944 as she and her mother (Ariadna Gil) reunite with her cold officer stepfather (Sergi Lopez) which she attempts to escape from by going into a world of fantasy.

Mise-en-scene (M.E.S) and Cinematography are used to convey a multitude of meanings in the film in this particular piece of work I will be analysing from one scene in the film and breaking down its meanings conveyed using these techniques.

The Death Of Dr Ferreiro

1.14.42 to 1.21.18

M.E.S is used in this scene to convey the mood and tone of the scene such as the pathetic fallacy of the rain in the setting when Dr Ferreirio (Alex Angulo) is woken up to help medicate a captured rebel after intense torture, the rain symbolises the sadness/despair of the doctor as we see throughout the film how his character despises the actions of captain Vidal and how he treats the local people due to him working for the rebellion as a double agent. This pathetic fallacy is a common trope in films during sad scenes from the funeral scene in "Amazing Spiderman" (2012) to Roy Battey's heartbreaking speech"Blade Runner" (1982) rain has always been used in cinema to convey a character metaphorical or literal tears.

The costume in the scene is also used to contextualise meaning as we see Captain Vidal with his shirt undone and sleeves rolled up paints him as informal/comfortable while everyone else from the doctor to the soldier are neatly dressed in uniform or buttoned up formal clothing like the doctor showing the influence and power held over these characters as the captain dresses and acts however he wants while everyone else is trapped in there formal garments this creates an aspect of control in the scene as it seems he is at home implying that he can do whatever he wants, that everything in the frame he's in belongs to him this is also proven through the fact he is shot behind looking over at Doctor Ferreiro in a longshot with the camera's depth of field creating a lack of focus on him in these frames evoking this tense atmosphere as he controls and watches everything the Doctor does as his literal shadow behind him. This could also be linked to the context of the film being set in 1944 Spain which was run by a dictatorship that asserted a similar dominance and double standard over the people as Captain Vidal does.

The cinematography is also used to convey meaning in the scene with the close-ups on three of the characters hands, Captain Vidal's hands are covered in blood and being washed in the rain, Vidals hands being washed free of blood could symbolise the lack of consequences the Spanish Dictator Francisco Franco faced during his reign where many were killed and brutalised and him washing his hand in the rain due to its pathetic fallacy context shows how he is using the peoples fear to wash himself of this violence. The Doctors hand closeup shows him preparing to medicine to treat the torture victim implies the resistance and rebellions during Francisco's reign as he tries to fix the brutality left by this rulership but ends up killing the resistance fighter to save him from the torment symbolising the cost action against the dominance of Spain. And finally, the resistance fighters close up of his mangled hand conveyed using makeup effects which symbolise the victim of the system as his finger is parted from his hand possible linking to the separation of individuals in Spain's fascist system.

In the final frame of the scene, we get a longshot of Doctor Ferreiro's body lying face in the dirt on the left side of the screen and Captain Vidal on the right side of the screen surrounded by his men. Not only does the camera convey the characters political viewpoints with Ferreiro on the left associated with socialist views (left wing) while Vidal is on the right which is linked to conservative and even fascist viewpoints (right wing), but this shot clearly represents the power dynamic between them with Ferreiro lying along and unprotected from the rain while Vidal sands out of the rain protected from the rain which could symbolise the suffering of these dictatorship governments that the ones in charge don't suffer the sadness and grief of the rain but ordinary people like the doctor are left protection less as they endure the suffering of the rain in the dirt like animals.

In conclusion, the doctor's death sequence in Pans Labyrinth is filled with references and metaphors to inequality and the political context with the time period (1944 Spain) along with explaining the power and mood of characters using costume and setting with simple yet effective cinematography.