Beginning Scene:
The humming of a lullaby is first heard upon a black screen, already hinting at the child protagonist and an illusion of an innocent situation. This is contrasted by the titles of the period in which it's set - 1944 which means it is set during the Second World War and since being such a big societal impact is most likely a significant part of the narrative. The title cards also reveal the situation of the Civil War which evoked violence. As the camera pans from right to left, it reveals a vertical shot of Ofelia lying down, her face and hands both covered in blood as her facial expression shows fear and terror. The continuous tilt of the camera which zooms into her eye is enhanced by the voice-over of a fairy tale like narrative using the phrasing 'a long time ago...'. By zooming into her eye it conflicts the ideology of whether this other world is part of her imagination, or if it part of her memories and is therefore zooming into those thoughts.
The cold coloured fantastical world which is zoomed into pans through an establishing shot, following the narrative of the voice-over of her wishing to escapism her world for the world above. The white transition shows a blindingness which blends into a warm coloured, yet ancient and ruined scenery which enhances the words of death which she faced. The use of 'perhaps in another lifetime' as the shot continues to show the army trucks which leads to the reveal of Ofelia - the first cut being to a book involving fairies which could led to the thought of the world being her imagination.
Pale Man Scene:
With the book that Fauno gave Ofelia revealing the sketch in a magical way, the orchestration enhancing the this due to the high pitch twinkles, she retells the riddle of the task through voice-over as she does the actions - for example; 'Use the chalk to draw a door' which cuts to her drawing the door. Even seeing the imagery of the Pale Man, the use of voice-overs which parallel her doing what it describes shows her immediacy and confidence to do the acts. The bubbling of the chalk, sounding like it's burning into the wall shows the mysterious ambiguity of the room - whether it's her mind of not.
Once opening the door, a dramatic and tense soundtrack plays as the camera zooms out of her reaction, revealing a daunting, larger than expected from a wall in a house in a war zone's room. The red tinge of the room reflects the horror-related foreshadowing. By fading the cuts to continue pulling out, it shows just how fantastical the room she created is, having stone pillars to give an ancient aesthetic. The close up of the chair being placed, and the hourglass being turned highlights the later impact of each, being of critical importance to her escape - the breathy sigh as she steps down through the door giving a haunted feeling.
The curve of the hallway leads to the dining table in the centre of what seems like an underground cave, the later shown murals enhancing this. The fireplace behind the Pale Man, which sits frozen and looming as a possible threat, gives the lie of warmth and a homely feeling as it provides as a threat. As Ofelia wanders to the other side of the table, the camera tracks her move from the opposite side, highlighting the various foods in which she's been warned not to eat. Stopping at the end of the table, she finds the Pale Man completely frozen in sight yet his eyes are shown to be on a plate in front, being bloody which reflects the nature of the show - her disgust being evident through her scrunched up eyebrows.
Turning around, Ofelia notices the piles of children's leather shoes. This links to the context of the period in which the Holocaust resulted in children's clothes being piled up, showing their horrific deaths. The connection to the Pale Man is shown through the murals which depicted the violent murders of babies by being eaten by him. Pausing her fear aside, she focuses on the key holes, using the fairies as foretold to guide her to the right one. Leading astray from the fairies' points, Ofelia chooses the different key hole, and yet still gaining the key (therefore is this in her mind?). From the perspective inside the keyhole rather than from hers, it provides the knowledge that what she's hoping for is in there, as there is less tension.
When returning back to her room, Ofelia notices the grapes on the table, the pull in of the camera showing her change in mentality. Sweeping across the table from her perspective, it highlights the tastiness of the food.The warning of the fairies is brushed off by her careless attitude - even though she looked back towards the Pale Man showing that she is aware of the issues. Upon eating it, the close up of the Pale Man's fingers are shown to move, the thud of his movements being non-diegetic to evoke fear. His breathing has been enhanced to create a wheezing, death-like breathing. Placing the eyes into his hands, the squelch of them making it more gory, we see from over Ofelia's shoulder the Pale Man ascending towards her. His movements combined with her being blissfully unaware creates a tension, especially since we know what the Pale Man has the capability to do. The bloodiness of the fairies' heads being ripped off highlighting this.
As Ofelia runs to the door, the Pale Man, enhanced by the breathing and orchestration, is slowly stumbling towards her. The door closes just as she reaches there, meaning that the hourglass has finished and she's trapped. The breaking of her chalk and her quickened breathing contrast the Pale Man coming towards her into the centre of the screen. The struggle to get up into the ceiling, such as shown through the chair wobbling and her clinging onto the floorboards of her cold coloured room. When Ofelia closes the door, the heavy breathing results in a final gasp which bleeds into the silence of the room, save from her laboured breaths.
Comments
Post a Comment