Pans lab- frog scene

The scene opens with a mid shot of Ofelia walking through a forest reading a story book, The mise-en-scene is Ofelias dressed in a clothing that looks similar to Alice In wonderland which is an intertextual reference. However instead of Blue she is wearing a green under dress, which is the colour Ofelia wears the most throughout. his could be to show she is part f the fantasy world and is close to nature. The storybook which tells her of what she must do, could be representative of how the whole story links to fairy tales and the genre of fantasy that Del Tororo makes the film in. The mise-en-scene of the forest could show that Ofelia is close with the fantasy world.

While Ofelia is walking there is a jump cut to Vidal and his troops going uphill on their horses through the forest, this is to keep the continuity between the two storylines as Ofelia is also walking through the forest. There is a mid-shot of Ofelia walking through the wooded area, it is a medium long shot of Ofelia and is taken from a low angle while she’s walking up the hill, this is similar to the shot of Vidal and his troops, therefore showing the two time lines as similar. The forest could represent the republicans and how they wanted to bring a new Spain which the mise-en-scene shows nature and greenery and shows Vidal with his troops riding through thr forest which shows how Franco wanted to crush the rebels and republicans of Spain when he was dictator.  The camera is at a low angle, it also tilts upwaards, and this could be to show that Vidal is superior and the patriarchy of Spain at the time the film is set. The camera is also panning uphill to show how many troops there are, making the nationalists under Vidal’s order seem more imposing.

 There is the use of parallel editing, so while Ofelia is walking to the tree, Vidal is on his way to the rebel camp.  The shot of Ofelia walking through the wooded area is a mid shot, it is a medium long shot of Ofelia and is taken from a low angle while she’s walking up the hill, this is similar to the shot of Vidal and his troops, therefore showing the two time lines as similar. When Ofelia arrives at the tree she takes her outer layers off and puts them onto a tree/branch which are soon blown away, this could be to show that in Spain at the time nothing was permanent or stayed in a good state for long. Ofelia walks into the hollow tree and falls down a hole, this is very similar to Alice in wonderland falling down the rabbit hole, this is another intertextual reference. This is because Alice and Wonderland is arguably about how not everything is as it seems and how the imagination can run wild, it is also arguable that Ofelia has actually created the fantasy world in her head as a way of dealing with the psychological trauma that she has because she’s grown up in Franco’s fascist Spain.

When Ofelia is in the tunnel it is very dirty and muddy with bugs crawling around and up her arms.it is also a tight space. The overall lighting is very saturated and warmer which happens with the fantasy world throughout the whole film, this is so the audience can visually differentiate the two. The tunnel is very narrow, and this could be to show how the people of fascists Spain didn't have much choice and they were all confined to one way of thinking/acting. While being much warmer it also is darker, and this is to show that the frog is a metaphor for Franco and how Spain was in a dark era just after the civil war and when it was under Franco’s dictatorship. When Ofelia is in the tunnel there are mid shot of her looking around, her face is clear but the rest of her body is blurry, this is so the camera can get her reaction to her environment, there is also a close up of Ofelia and this is to display her fear for what lies ahead in the tunnel so she can complete her task. The camera also pans around the tunnel to show how narrow the space is and how disgusting it is which is reinforced by the bugs crawling around the walls and on Ofelia.

The frog represents Franco, fascist Spain and the patriarchal society the story is set in. Ofelia says the frog

“aren’t you ashamed living down here, eating all these bugs and getting fat while the tree dies?”

This is a metaphor for Franco and the tree is representative of Spain which is ‘dying’ because it’s been stripped of all choice and freedom. Ofelia’s dialogue is a reflection towards how the Spanish people felt under Franco’s rule. The shots while she says this are edited so theyre shot inverse shot, the Frog is unreactive to Ofelia and this showcases how Franco didn’t care about the Spanish people and just wanted to silence them and control them. The light source is coming from the back/side and this is because the frog is meant to be a feared figure especially by Ofelia who is a young child. When the frog's tongue shoots out it aims for Ofelia's face which could be linked to the theme of eyes and mouths shown throughout the film, it shows how the fascist frog wants to have power over Ofelia, however she ends up defeating the frog and thats to show that fascist Spain will be overtaken at some point and they are not going to be in power forever.

 The shot of the rebels is from a low angle to show how they are morally superior to Vidal and his all fo the people that work for him and assit him in executing his plans and ideals. It's very saturaed and colourful which is rare in the 'real world' and it shows how it is an idealistic way of thinking that they are acting on.