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...