Pan's Labyrinth

Analyzing the opening sequence of Pan's Labyrinth.

The beginning of the film is a black screen with a series of text cards displaying

 the historical background and providing the audience with some context of the Spanish Civil War. Eventually,  there is a fade up from black and we can hear the heavy breathing of Ofelia, Mercedes softly humming the lullaby and the wind whistling - this all sets up the tone of the scene.

The opening shot is shown when the camera pans from right to left following the drops of blood that are floating back to Ofelia's hand. We see a close up of Ofelia laying on the ground with blood coming from her nose however the blood is moving in reverse which hints that this is the ending and we're now going to be taken back to the start of the story and see how she ended up like this. The blue filter that we see in this shot represents sadness and despair. This opening shot suggests that the film isn't going to follow standard fairy-tale conventions - it's not going to have a happy ending.

The camera tilts then zooms into her eye and the screen is black while a voice over is introduced.

A voice over is used to tell the fairy-tale story because they're told orally and passed down that way through generations - they're flexible. Whereas the text cards were used to tell the hard facts of the narrative. From this, we understand that the fantasy world and the real world co-exist. By entering Ofelia's eye, we enter the fantasy world and we see things how she see's them. The idea that we enter through Ofelia's eye and then see the life of Princess Moanna hints that Ofelia is secretly her.

Here we see an extreme long shot of the kingdom as the camera pans along left to right. We hear the voice over say it is a "world where there are no lies and no pain", this completely contrasts how Spain was at that time.  We see Princess Moanna leaving the safety of the fantasy world and going to the real world - she is a typical rebelling teenager that does not want to conform.

As we enter the real world, we see death and destruction with a destroyed church and decaying skeleton. This is because of the state of Spain at that time, the film is set 5 years after the Civil War.

The narrator says that the "the father knew the princess' soul would return" as we see a cross-fade into the scene of Ofelia in the car. This highlights the juxtaposition between the fantasy world of Princess Moanna and the real world with Ofelia. The black cars and military truck appear intrusive (connoting war and danger) as they drive over the dry, hostile landscape.

We see a shot of Ofelia caressing the picture of a girl in a fairy-tale book as if she is projecting herself onto the book. Immediately, we understand that Ofelia likes fairy-tales and uses them as a form of escapism. 

Cut to a medium shot of Ofelia and her mother dressed alike, they wear the same coat which suggests that Ofelia should grow up to be like her mother however Ofelia is wearing a green shirt which links her to nature and fertility. In this scene, we see that her mother dismisses the fairy-tales as nonsense. Ofelia's mother grabs her face in an effort to control her but Ofelia is a character who resists control throughout the film. 

The cars are stopped when Carmen begins to feel sick and asks the driver to pull over. In the shot of the cars stopping we see the beauty of nature, the sunlight is beaming through the trees and there are speckles of pollen floating in the air - the scene looks magical but is ruined by the dark, military cars parked across it. Pollen is used throughout the film when either Ofelia or a magical creature appears. 

Ofelia is entranced by the nature and begins to wander off leaving her mother behind. The diagetic sound of her mother fades to suggest that Ofelia is in her own little bubble. 

In this sequence, we begin by seeing through Ofelia's perspective as she looks up at the trees, then the camera turns and ends up behind her as if Ofelia has stepped into her own fairy-tale - her own story and is writing the way. The diagetic sound of the soldiers continues to fade and reality is swiftly left behind. 

Ofelia picks up a stone eye which is an important symbol as the story is about how she see things. 

Ofelia puts the stone eye back into the statue and this suggests that she has a deeper understanding of things. She puts the eye back and it results in her being followed by the fairy - she is chosen. 

The sound in this scene is of the wind blowing and a slow, gentle piano music playing which seems magical. The music has a much lower tone when we see the statue which suggests a sense of threat and mystery. The camera zooms into the mouth of the statue and Ofelia watches as the cricket climbs out - she smiles when it appears and this aligns her with the fantasy world. We then see that her mother and a soldier (who are out of focus - the reality) down below while Ofelia is fixated on the cricket. Her mother says to her "Look at your shoes!" which shows that she is practical and realistic, Ofelia replies with "I just saw a fairy" which shows that she doesn't care for practicality, she belongs in the fantasy world. 

Audience are then invited to look from the cricket's point of view as we see over its shoulder that Ofelia's mother is taking her back to the car. There is then a sound bridge as we hear a ticking clock before it enters the scene. 

Shot of a neat black glove clutching a pocket watch which exerts control, discipline and meticulousness from the Captain. Later in the film, we understand that the watch belonged to the Captain's father and has some sort of psychological pressure on him as it is a constant reminder of his more successful career. The smashed face of the watch prefigures his own scarred face after Mercedes cuts him. The darkness of his clothing aligns him with the forces of destruction. 

There is a cold, stern look on the Captain's face as he says to himself  "15 minutes late." 

The camera pans and we see the military camp and the fascist logos on the cars.  

Long shot of the mill house and soldiers, the landscape looks like it has been scarred, it is a reminder of the ongoing civil war. 

Ofelia's mother wants to exert her own free will and walk but the Captain insists that she sits in a wheelchair, she sits down and becomes lower than him - she is inferior. In this shot, the Captain has his back to Ofelia, she is an outcast with her books. He then acknowledges her and puts his gloves back on to shake her hand - no skin to skin contact, he's inhumane. She attempts to shake using her left hand as her right tightly clutches her books, he tells her that she is using the wrong hand. He grabs her hand in an aggressive manner as if he is crushing her free will now that she's arrived at his military camp. The camera rises and we are looking down at Ofelia, she appears vulnerable. As he turns away, the camera follows him and leaves her out of the frame, suggesting she is not important. 

As she gets out of the car, we see Ofelia in the foreground clutching her books and Mercedes in the background watching her (Mercedes is wearing green which ties her to the girl and to nature), the sound of the cricket makes Ofelia look up. Ofelia is center shot showing she is important. She leans down to the cricket showing that she is attentive and connected to the fairy world. She begins to chase the cricket and leaves the light of the camp as a shadow casts over her face suggesting she is about to walk into something ominous. 

We see what Ofelia is looking at as music consisting of low sustained notes begins playing, the entrance of the labyrinth looks powerful and potentially threatening however the powerful music dies down and there is a soft lilting rhythm as Ofelia heads into the maze. The camera movements are fluid and sometimes represents her point of view and sometimes tracks ahead of her as she walks towards it. She stops walking at a corner and peers her head around to look - the camera tracks towards her. 

Mercedes appears and hands Ofelia her books, immediately the audience can infer that Mercedes is a 'good' character, she can be trusted. Mercedes shows interest in Ofelia and her books as she begins to ask her about them but is called away by the Captain. Ofelia follows her and begins to confide in her about her father as emotional music starts to play. They both begin walking away and again we see from the crickets point of view as it watches Ofelia. The camera cranes up as ominous music plays again and we see the cricket on top of the arch.