The film was bittersweet. It had amazing characters that you could get easily attached to. It featured a storyline that probably took weeks of work. And, it was visually appealing. It also used a lot of good quality CGI which is surprising because the film was made in 2006. The animation was amazing and the characters were exceptionally creepy. It was the kind of film in which you were confused by the ending, but happy nonetheless.

The General was probably the most sexist character. All he cared about was his son being born. He didn’t care for his wife. Whenever his wife was sick or hurt, he would only save her because he wanted his son to live. This was usual during this time period—a time when fascism flourished–because it was a fascist type of environment. Leaders tended to care about who would rise to power after their death.

One of the main storylines in the movie was the fight between the upper class (they had a house, and it consisted of the general, his wife, many soldiers, and the main character) and the lower class (who lived in the woods). The upper class was trying to keep lower class out of their “fortress” while the lower class was trying to over take the fortress.

(4:29): This scene is a close up of Ofelialooking at the totem that has lost part of its face. The camera is angled in a way that it looks like the totem is watching Ofelia. The rule of thirds is partially being used here because Ofelia and the totem seem to share the same section of the shot. The music is dramatic, but sad, piano music plays as she watches the totem. Then, when Ofelia stops walking around the totem, the music because much more sinister. It almost sounds like dark Celtic music. The camera then follows Ofelia as she begins to walk to the right of the totem. Also, the light in the shot seems darker because Ofelia was walking in the middle of the woods.

(4:38): This is a close up shot of Ofelia holding the totem’s missing eye. She found it before she saw the totem and she’s contemplating whether or not to put it back in the totem’s eye socket. The rule of thirds is used in this shot because the totem’s eye is in the middle while Ofelia’s hand seems to come out of the right of the screen. The music continues to be dramatic, as if Ofelia is going to decide not to put the eye in the totem’s eye socket. But, she chooses to and that leads to the next shot.

(4:44): The shot type continues to be a close up shot. Here, Ophelia has put the eye in the totem’s eye socket and it appears to be watching her with a stunned expression. The lighting hitting the totem makes the mouth look like it is an entrance to some type of portal. The mouth sits perfectly in the middle of the shot. It sits like this for five seconds before a bug appears from its mouth.

 (4:49): The music stops playing once a praying mantis type of bug appears from the mouth of the totem. Ofelia looks shocked that a bug has appeared from the totem’s mouth. Her confusion seems to be echoed by the shot because the shot is no longer following the rule of thirds. Also, the totem can be seen to the left of the shot as some sort of dark entity. This shot is particularly important because the bug that emerges from the totem starts the main plot line. It follows Ofelia around, indirectly giving her a quest.

Overall, the film was amazing and I highly recommend it.  Also, It addressed the topic of fascism and how it affected people in every day life. Guillermo Del Toro does an amazing job of creating a fictional society that is constantly in conflict with itself and outside forces. It is a dramatic film that is unlike anything during its time period (when it was released in 2006).  It is incredibly unique.

http://panslabyrinth.co.uk/