Introduction

This chapter provides a close study of Pan's Labyrinth as a very challenging piece of film-making. It talks about Pan's Labyrinth's stunning visual beauty, haunting lullaby theme that evoke the tragedy of the protagonist Ofelia, and masterful combination of fantasy and horror conventions to produce a barbed, threatening, but beautiful, cinematic landscape. It also discusses how Pan's Labyrinth presents the ravaging impact of Spanish Fascism distilled into a corner of rural Spain. The chapter offers a clear and comprehensive framework for the study of any single film and initiates an investigation into the wonderful complexities of Pan's Labyrinth. It describes film director Guillermo del Toro who was born in Guadalajara, Mexico in 1964.

Institutions

This chapter mentions Pan's Labyrinth budget that was worth EUR 13.5 million and was produced by Guillermo del Toro's production company, Tequila Gang. It recounts del Toro's brave decisions during the crucial casting process and emphasizes the casting of Doug Jones as the 'continuity factor' in Pan's Labyrinth, who both portrayed the Faun and the Pale Man. It also describes Pan's Labyrinth's teaser and main trailers, which attempt to sell the film to audiences in a variety of ways. The chapter explores the genre identity of Pan's Labyrinth and how it is presented through the narrative fragments and mise-en-scène. It describes the fantastical creatures and setting of the labyrinth and fairy kingdom that identify Pan's Labyrinth as a fantasy piece.

Narrative

This chapter focuses on narrative as the exploration of how a story is structured and organised in order to create meaning and generate a particular response from the audience. It explains how a film can be broken down into specific sections that contain particular events and have particular functions. It also discusses the narrative theory formulated by Tzvetan Todorov in his literary and cultural criticism, which defined three basic stages of a narrative's structure. The chapter describes Pan's Labyrinth's narrative structure that can be read as retrospective due to its opening scene of an image of a dead child. It explains that the retrospective narrative provides a retelling of what brings Ofelia to this tragic position.

Film Language

This chapter talks about mise-en-scène as a French phrase that best translates in English as 'put into the scene', which includes setting, décor, costume, props, body language, and make-up. It explains how mise-en-scène conveys meaning and includes information concerning character emotion, psychological state, mood, atmosphere, historical time, genre, and point in the narrative. It also points out ways in which mise-en-scène dominates some films as they are constructed as cinematic tableau, such as a series of pictures or paintings. The chapter describes Guillermo Del Toro's vision of the world of Pan's Labyrinth, in which there are clear parallels between the real-world characters and sets and the imaginary ones. It explores how Pan's Labyrinth gives centre stage to the power of the imagination and the need to retain imagination in order to counter point the horrors of the real-world.

Genre

This chapter discusses genre as a categorization of films that have standard conventions. It explains how Genres of film can go in and out of fashion or become reignited because of the success of one particular film at the box office. It also talks about the financial motivation behind genres that dominate a particular period of cinema scheduling, such as the dominance of superhero films like The Batman and Spider-Man franchises. The chapter mentions Guillermo Del Toro's interest in the fantasy and horror genres and his three favourite actors: Boris Karloff, Vincent Price and Peter Cushing, who are recognized for their horror film credentials. It describes Pan's Labyrinth as a film in which visual elements are designed specifically to engage, shock, and provoke.