How does narrative create meaning in Pan's Labyrinth?

For my exam, I will be comparing La Haine to Pan's Labyrinth. The film is set in 1944 Spain, a girl (Ofelia) fascinated with fairy-tales, is sent along with her pregnant mother to live with her new stepfather (Vidal), a ruthless captain of the Spanish army. During the night, she meets a fairy who takes her to an old faun (Fauno) in the centre of the labyrinth. He tells her she's a princess, but must prove her royalty by surviving three gruesome tasks. If she fails, she will never prove herself to be the true princess and will never see her real father, the king, again. Like the film La Haine and the character Vinz, Ofelia is doomed and her eventual fate is that she dies at the end in order to be the princess of the underworld. Ofelia, like Vinz, is stuck in her own world, and like him, she is delusional. Propp's theory of fairy tales stock characters can be applied to Pan's Labyrinth because the director Guillermo Del Torro shows that each character can be applied as a fairy-tale character. For example, Ofelia would be the Hero, Mercedes is the Helper, Vidal is the Villain, Fauno is the Donor, Carmen is the Dispatcher and the Princess's father and Ofelia's brother is the Princess she must protect. 

The story of Pan's Labyrinth is not a CHN because there is no state of equilibrium, there is a constant state of conflict, where the Hero (Ofelia) cannot get along with the Villain (Vidal). The disruption starts when Ofelia enters the Labyrinth because this starts her quest to become the princess of the underworld. It hence starts her delusions and imaginations because she wants to get away from the location she has been forced to stay in. The resolution is where Ofelia is murdered and Vidal is murdered as Ofelia goes into the 'underworld' where she is a princess an meets her 'real' parents, the King and Queen of the underworld. However, the resolution doesn't follow the CHN as he gets murdered by her step-father. Think links back to La Haine as Vinz and Hubert don't get justice and they get killed by the Police they were fighting against, just like Ofelia who was killed by the step-father she was fighting against. La Haine also doesn't follow the CHN because the film starts with the resolution because there is a monologue linking to the end of the film. This creates the message that there is a 'circle of violence' derived from the cyclical narrative. 

The concept of a fairy-tale is used in Pan's Labyrinth because they want to distract from reality just like people try to do during troubled times. An example of this would be the manchanke root to look after the baby because this is a belief that is still alive today. I think Guillermo Del Torro is trying to shed a light on the idea that no matter what you believe in, it won't take your problems away. I think that this can be applied to La Haine as the reality is shown throughout the film and there is no sense of false hope, unlike Pan's Labyrinth. I also think that fairy-tale characters could be used to highlight the evil deeds that went on throughout the Spanish Civil War. This is seen through monstrous characters such the Pale Man who sits amongst the feast of food while the village is starving. Could this be linking to Vidal, who, as a Captain of the Spanish army, has access to all the food from the storage barn.

Pan's Labyrinth Narrative

Planning Notes

Synopsis

• Cover broader variety of things
• Key characters, plot lines etc

Screenplay

• 5-10 pages
• Five min scene OR scenes throughout the film
• For mine, lots of narrative (Wes anderson)

Recce Report

• Go to location
• Where you found it
• Link to thematic study (Wes Anderson's style)
• Practicality of shooting at that location (space, lighting, angles etc.)

Casting Considerations

• Moodboard?
• Photo of actor with arrows explaining choice
• Why they would be good for thematic study (Wes Anderson's actor choices)

Treatment

• Write in the present text what your shots are going to be like
• Style, lighting etc.

Layouts

• Location
• Character Behaviour
• Camera Angle/Shot
• Lighting (link to Wes Anderson)
• Mise-en-scene (link) - costume, props etc.
• Links to Research (theorists, articles etc.)
• Rough Shot (include photo or drawing)

French New Wave Book

"The directors of the French New Wave were the original film geeks - a collection of celluloid crazed cinephiles with a background in film criticism and a love for American auteurs. They armed themselves with handheld cameras, rejected conventions, and successfully moved movies out of the studios and on to the streets at the end of the 1950s. By the mid-1960s, the likes of Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut and Claude Chabrol had changed the rules of filmmaking forever. This Guide reviews and analyses all of the major films in the movement and offers profiles of its stars."

I thought that this book would help me more with understanding about the French New Wave and how it influenced Wes Anderson. It also includes other directors such as Quentin Tarantino and Alfred Hitchcock.

Textual Analysis Plan

La Haine - Character P.O.V.

Saïd

Vinz





Hubert


CONCLUSION

The original P.OV. is from Saïd, this is shown at the last scene because he is the only person standing, and he is seen narrating "So far so good, so far so good" at the last scene which links back to the bginning narration, which could have been a hint to what was about to come.

If the P.OV. was from Vinz's perscpective, then the views would be more biased and a lot of his anger would be projected into the film. for example, a shaking camera could add to this affect.

If the P.OV. was from Hubert's perspective, then we would see a non-judgemental, calm view because tht's the sort of character he tries to be. This is often swayed by his upbringing because he is havi

Narrative Theory

Narrative elements are created to entise an audience. Narrative is part of human nature.

What are Propp's 7 character types?

• The Hero

• The Villian (struggles against the hero)

• The Donor/ The Enabler (prepares the hero)

• The Helper (helps the hero)

• The Princess (sought for)

• The False Hero (perceived as good)

• The Dispatcher (sends hero off)

Todorov - Equilibrium 

1. Equilibrium 

2. Disruption

3. Reinstatement

Levis Strauss - Bibary Opposition

• Light and Dark

• Good and Bad

La Haine - Narrative

• Characters
- Costumes
- Settings (Paris, Slums)
- P.O.V. on events - Directors P.O.V

• Events
- Assimilation
- Class
- Conflict

• Liberty, Equality Fraternity
- Why is this so important to France?

Narrative

• Story

• Events 

- metaphors of events e.g. Pan's Labyrinth fantasy deters from what actually happened FANTASY

- 'actual' events e.g. The shooting and riots in La Haine, REALISM, documentary, feels like your there

• CHN (Classic Hollywood Narrative) 

- Disruption, Equilibrium, Resolution

- Do 'Foreign' films follow CHN? Does this mean it's actually a 'Foriegn'?

• Characters

- Drive the Narrative

- No story without the character

- Psychological motivation (need for a quest)

- Propp? (Stock Characters: Hero, Damsel, Villain, Helper e.g. Fantasy's, Fairy Tale, PAN'S LABYRINTH)

Research Structure

1. An INTRODUCTION explaining the focus of research (200 words)
2. A DESCRIPTION of KEY TEXTS (200 words max)
3. The AIMS of the RESEARCH  - what are you going to find out, hypothesis/ research questions (200 words)
4. Ideas, texts and SECONDARY RESEARCH - Paragraphs seperated into Research Sub -Headings (600-800 words per sub-heading) 3-4 paragraphs
5. CONCLUSIONS per sub-heading - what have you discovered

Student Friendly Mark Scheme

Level 1

• Little Analysis
• Little Background Research
• Little understanding of theories
• Little skill in good presentation 
• Little ability to summarise
• Little evaluation of research
• Little ability to communicate, frequent errors
• Little reference to research
• Little use of film terminology

Level 2 

• Decent Analysis
• Decent Background Research
• Decent understanding of theories
• Decent skill in good presentation 
• Decent ability to summarise
• Decent evaluation of research
• Decent ability to communicate, frequent errors
• Decent reference to research
• Decent use of film terminology

Level 3

• Good Analysis
• Good Background Research
• Good understanding of theories
• Good skill in good presentation 
• Good ability to summarise
• Good evaluation of research
• Good ability to communicate, frequent errors
• Good reference to research
• Good use of film terminology

Level 4

• Great Analysis
• Great Background Research
• Great understanding of theories
• Great skill in good presentation 
• Great ability to summarise
• Great evaluation of research
• Great ability to communicate, frequent errors
• Great reference to research
• Great use of film terminology

Textual Analysis Choice

For my textual analysis I have chosen to explore the question:

"To What Extent Is Wes Anderson  completely original?"

The theories that can be explored are:

1. Narrative Theory
2. Auteur Theory (directors influence, style):
3. French New Wave Theory:

2:

http://www.yucommentator.org/2014/04/the-mark-of-a-director-wes-andersons-idiosyncratic-style-in-the-grand-budapest-hotel/

3:

http://twoguysandafilm.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/the-life-cinematic-wes-anderson-and-french-new-wave-theory-mitch/

Primary Text

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014):

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/mar/06/the-grand-budapest-hotel-wes-anderson-review

Moonrise Kingdom (2012):

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/may/24/moonrise-kingdom-review

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001):

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2002/mar/15/1

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004):

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/feb/18/the-life-aquatic

The Darjeeling Limited (2007):

I chose to include this film as one of my primary texts because it is similar in style to  the others films that apply to my theory and it also includes similar actors that Wes Anderson uses.

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/nov/25/comedy.drama1

Bottle rocket (1996):

I chose to include this film as one of my primary texts because this is the first film that Wes Anderson made which influenced how his other film was made. It was also the first film he made with Owen Wilson which also included his brother Luke Wilson.

http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9904E4D61339F932A15751C0A960958260

La Haine Messages and Values

•The film looks at a single day in the life of three friends, from immigrant families living in a impoverished multi-ethnic French housing project called a ZUP (zone a urbaniser en prioritie).

•The ZUP is in the suburbs of Paris, showing an aftermath of a riot, which helps to highlight the bad relationship between the police and the youth culture occupying the ZUP.

Textual Analysis Title Ideas

Here are 5 title ideas that I have chose to consider for my Textual Analysis:

1. The representation of male gaze in films during the 1970s and 1980s.

2. The influence of female directors in comparison to male directors in the film industry.

3. To what extent is Wes Anderson completely original.

4. The influence of 'foreign' film directors in Hollywood.

5. The influence of German Expressionism on Tim Burton.

La Haine and Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

'Liberty, Equality, Fraternity' is France's motto.

• France in the 18th century was a rich and populous country, but it had a systemic problem collecting taxes because of the way society was structured. 
• They had a system with kings and nobles now called the Ancient Regime. 
• This was bad because the people with money never paid taxes, this meant France got into debt and the King declared bankruptcy.
• After this crops got ruined which made food prices rise and people got hungry and angry. 
• The King then gathered a meeting which made others rebel when he didn't do what they wanted. People protested to get rid of the Ancient Regime. 
• The idea of the motto came about in the French Revolution so that everybody should be become free and equal individuals only bound together as brothers in the nation.
• Skip ahead and the irony of this motto is that it unfortunately seems to only exist if your white. 
• The emphasis on 'fraternity' and that you have to be the same (white) in order to be treated equal.
• Racism plays a major role in La Haine which reflects the motto of France and how they are contracting to what they believe in.
• Authorities should be treating everyone as equals not prioritising others because of the skin colour.
• Unfortunately this has been this way for centuries with this French Revolution making greed and power the root of France's ridiculous believes.
• Assimilation plays a key factor in La Haine and France's culture because other ethnicities and their cultures have to adapt to France's culture, such as the language barrier has to be adapted so that everyone speaks French, not their own language.
• La Haine demonstrates this as characters with different ethnic backgrounds all speak the same language. With the black and white filter, the film highlights just how much individuality has come under strain. It is hard to pick up on the individual characters and separating them race seems to be highlighted as the audience has to do this to.

Messages in Culture

FRANCHISE FILMS

1. What makes the character a HERO (stock characters)?

CAPTAIN AMERICA (CA):

• The hero is a US protector of humanity/the world. 

• To export the film. 

• The hero is (super) powerful. Makes ordinary people feel inadequate. Sends a message that you should let people fight for you.

• Personification of America - powers was forced on him.

• All male characters. 

• Physically powerful.

• Sacrifice his previous life.

• Good morals (your interpretations of what's right and wrong). Comes from the text, the actors communicate what the directors feel is right and wrong.

• US are seen as the protectors of humanity, but they have a huge empire (controlling/white traditional values).

TRANSFORMERS (T): 

• The hero seeks out to protect the 'damsel in distress' (Spike)

2. Why are costume and style important?

CA: 

• They establish the brand of Captain America and make him recognisable.

• America colours represents American flag - patriotic.

T: 

• They make the movie realistic enough to sympathise with characters.

IM:

• Suit protects him

• He can protects himself so he can protect you.

• Anyone can wear the suit so message is that anyone can be the hero.

3. Who are we aligned with?

CA: 

• Captain America

• We are aligned with the army that tries to fight the out of control robots.

• Because it's either him or the Nazi's

• Because he Used to be ordinary/ relatable.

T: 

• Bumblebee

• Anyone who fights for America/ world.

4. What is being RE-presented?

CA: 

• That Captain America has been forced to do a job that was originally bigger than he was.

• Violence is necessary.

• We do not negotiate with terrorists.

T: 

• That there is a war between the army and the robots that are trying to cause chaos but Bumblebee is our protagonist.

CONCLUSION

America has become insecure by 9/11 so these franchise films have been a product of society. Films send messages out to the public that can persuade their morals. 

In the second Captain America film they send the message that the government can't be trusted and that ordinary people should be 'freedom fighters'.

Textual Analysis Title Introduction

"To what extent is Wes Anderson completely original?"

For my essay title I chose to focus Wes Anderson and his seemingly unique film-making. I got the idea to study Wes Anderson from watching a film he made recently, 'The Grand Budapest Hotel', which is undoubtedly my favourite film from 2014. Wes Anderson's use of vivid colours, symmetry and quirky characters make his style unique.

Assimilation Vs Multiculturalism

Assimilation is where everyone joins the same culture.

When people are forced to give up their culture it creates resentment and conflict.

Assimilation is often seen as suppression.

Others see assimilation as respecting other peoples culture and views such as Dubai where you have to conform to their views.

People will always priotise people of western cultures rather than those of multicultural races because they have the minority over them.

Multiculturalism is where people keep their own cultures but a diversity of cultures is respected.

It promotes peace and harmony. Unique cultural differences are what builds a society and make it stronger.

It has been tried in The Roman Empire when they conquered by force (wars). When they invaded they assimilated the cultured they conquered to become Roman.

Multiculturalism can't work with an original dominant culture.

It could reduce racial tension but if there's no diversity expect class then everyone gets treated the same which means your not recognising the needs of other people in society. This means that you don't have a voice.

CLIPS

'Four Lions' shows assimilation because the characters intergrate with the extremist views in terrorist culture.

'La Haine' shows multiculturalism because the characters have their own views but there is no respect because the police become violent towards the 'criminals'.

But it also shows assimilatiion of their

beliefs and cultures.

1. The history of immigration France

2. Characters and Key Events in the film

3. The modern society and polotics in France

Where is assimilation seen today?

In Asian countries where religion determines what you are allowed to do culturally.

Where is multiculturalism seen today?

In London, multiculturalism is seen clearly but it comes under conflict because examples such as BNP and right wing conservatives who want to preserve British culture.

HW: 

- Learn about Liberty, Equality and Fraternity

- Watch La Haine

Tasks

1. Summer Project - due next lesson

2. Create new blog address for all your film coursework:

forenamesurnameleighfilmcourseworka2.blogspot.co.uk

3. How this coursework is made up:

a) Textual Analysis (40 marks) - THIS IS FAR TOO IMPORTANT

b) Planning (10 marks)

c) Creative Realisation (30 marks)

d) Evaluation (20 marks)

4. Choose an essay on the right =================>

5. So, here are the areas you can looked at for last year's coursework:

- Influence of German Expressionism on Tim Burton.

- Could Drive be considered neo-noir?

- Influence of marxism on Bollywood.

- To what extent does the film Stoker include elements of Hitchcock's influence?

- Influence of simulacra in contemporary cinema.

- Progression of crime portrayed in film through different eras.

- Oedipal (psychoanalysis) and Promethean themes in contemporary cinema.

- Feminist film theory - 80s to contemporary Hollywood (mainly Mulvey's female gaze).

- Representation of women in Korean cinema.

TASK: Brainstorm what elements can be researched in this section.

6. Produce 5 ROUGH research ideas to be presented at the end of the lesson.

Consider as a group - will it offer ample opportunity for planning/realisation/evaluation?

Grand Budapest Hotel

The Grand Budapest Hotel is a 2014 comedy film written and directed by Wes Anderson and inspired by the writings of Stefan Zweig. It stars Ralph Fiennes as a concierge who teams up with one of his employees to prove his innocence after he is framed for murder.

The film is a British-German co-production financed by German financial companies and film funding organizations, and was filmed entirely on location in Germany. The cinema of Wes Anderson is nothing if not mechanical. Watching his movies is less like marvelling at the silent workings of a Swiss watch than goggling at the innards of a grandfather clock, cogs and pulleys proudly displayed. Theatrical framing devices are everywhere, from book bindings to doll's houses to miniature stages and fluctuating screen ratios, with chapter headings a recurrent feature. As for the performances, one imagines that if Anderson were ever to include a "gag reel" of outtakes from his movies, it would include shots of an actor raising an eyebrow a millimetre too high, or placing a teacup an inch to the left of its allotted space upon a table.

The action centres upon the titular establishment, a once-grand confection of a building located in the imaginary European state of Zubrowka, lurking somewhere between the Best Exotic Marigold and the Overlook hotels, with Anderson's prowling, panning cameras occasionally resembling a cartoon caricature of Kubrick on speed. As ever, the story unfolds as a series of boxes within boxes. Our first narrator, a writer (variously played by Tom Wilkinson and Jude Law) hands the baton to a second storyteller, Mr Moustafa (F Murray Abraham, embodied in younger years by Tony Revolori) who in turn draws our attention to the real heart of the matter: the charismatic concierge, M Gustave (a splendidly rancid and randy Ralph Fiennes). Back in the 30s, Gustave was the hotel's primary attraction, a vision of purple-clad slickness attending the guests with oily efficiency, bedding the dowagers whose patronage was his fetish. When one such dowager (an unrecognisable Tilda Swinton) expires, leaving Gustave a priceless painting, the family revolts, and a frenetic caper is set in motion involving art theft, murder, love, prison breaks, steam trains, cable cars, occupying armies (non-specific war breaks out), dead cats, a clandestine order of fraternal concierges and elaborate cakes. In boxes.

With Lubitsch and Hitchcock his guiding lights, and author Stefan Zweig providing inspiration for a screenplay co-written with Hugo Guinness, Anderson conjures a fictional vision of Europe that nods its head towards the Hollywood backlots upon which so many émigré directors worked their magic in the golden age of the studios. Everything looks like a set, and deliberately so, with the screen oscillating between classic Academy ratio and more panoramic widescreen (both 1.85 and 2.35) to differentiate between the various time periods, ancient and modern(ish).

The overriding air is one of carefully controlled craziness in which even the outbursts of sporadic violence (a spontaneous gunfight shatters the hotel's studied serenity) are politely staged. It's a rigid structure in which the players flourish, most notably Fiennes, who caught Anderson's eye in a stage production of the savage farce God of Carnage, and whose brittle manner here proves the director's perfect tool. Relishing rapid-fire dialogue that veers incongruously between the oleaginous and the obscene (his clipped diction lends bizarre gravitas to the phrase "shaking like a shitting dog"), Fiennes is in roaring form, his timing note-perfect down to the last demisemiquaver, his mannerisms piercingly angular, from the set of his arms to the arch of his back, the curl of his lip, the bristle of his manicured moustache. Even more so than the mannequins of Fantastic Mr Fox, Fiennes has the appearance of an expertly animated creation, painstakingly captured frame by frame, each gesture rich in detail.

Around him a rogues' gallery of regular players is augmented by a growing gaggle of the great and the good, with fleeting turns from Bill Murray and Owen Wilson fighting for space alongside Harvey Keitel's shaven-headed comrade-in-crime, Saoirse Ronan's perfect partner, Adrien Brody's conniving son, Willem Dafoe's feral thug, Léa Seydoux's inquisitive maid, Mathieu Amalric's elusive butler, Jeff Goldblum's Freud-like lawyer, Jason Schwartzman's third-rate concierge, and more.

Sometimes the level of fleeting celebrity spectacle threatens distraction, with too many guests for even this sprawling hotel to accommodate. Yet each time we return to Abraham's ageing narrator the story merges once more, allowing the personal loss and historical tragedy to settle for the viewer to take in. This keeps the film lighthearted and adventurous.

With its signature zooms, motionless action, and ordered visual palette (architecture is everything, from the hairstyles to the shot compositions) this is Anderson-world writ large: a sealed environment in which reality is something you only read about in books, and the upheavals of the interwar years provide tonal rather than political background. What slices the surface is the rapier-sharp wit, with Fiennes on point at all times, a dashing foil for his director's comedic cut and thrust.

Pan's Labyrinth Style and Themes

Style

Guillermo Del Torro has a fasination

Themes

1. Rebellion
2. Imagination
3. Power
4. Imagination
5. Escapism
6. Fantasy 

Brief Context in 3 Films

German Expressionalism and Tim Burton

• German Expressionism is the artistic movement in Germany after World War I. It embodied the mental and physical wounds inflicted after the war was lost.
• The German Expressionist movement carries a legacy that still holds to this day, especially with film makers like Tim Burton. 
• The Expressionist movement as a whole began in the late 19th century through various artistic media. The movement picked up in Germany and heightened with a new medium of art -film.

• Above: A still from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 1920. The movement is often characterized with dark, stylized sets, with characters whose movements reflect their environment. 
• In the above movie still, both characters shown are twisted and contorted, almost identical to their surroundings. 
• The entire scene (mise en scène) appears chaotic, possibly representing the feelings of the German people at that time.

• Edward Scissorhands was one of Tim Burton’s first major films. 
• His fan base became much of what it is today because of this movie. 
• Burton’s films have always come with the expectation of a unique experience. 
• Burton’s films also often quietly attack social normalcies and question his viewers of what they believe is acceptable, by creating loveable characters. 
• Most of Burton’s movies and productions involve a socially awkward lead who is able to find love or acceptance from someone in society or society itself.
• Using dark humor and unusual examples, Burton tells his stories in a way that only he can. 
• Burton pays homage to The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in Edward Scissorhands by essentially recreating the 1920s film.

In Edward Scissorhands, Johnny Depp plays a character (Edward Scissorhands) who looks similar to Conrad Veidt (Cesare). Both characters are rather awkward and manipulated throughout both films. Edward by society, Cesare by an evil hypnotist.

When Tim Burton had massive commercial success with his 1992 Batman Returns, it was obvious that Danny DeVito’s Penguin character derived direct inspiration from Dr. Caligari himself, as more of a dark, homicidal, and mentally unstable character as opposed to the intelligent, calculating, and wealthy renditions of the Penguin character in the Batman comics.

SOURCE: https://storify.com/StrangeMixtie/the-influence-of-german-expressionalism-in-tim-bur

French New Wave

In this video, we played with the idea of the French New Wave style of filming, in which we used jump cuts, hand held cameras. However we could've improved our clip with natural lighting and sound. We also could've improved upon the length of the clip, however we didn't have enough footage to put together a longer clip. If we had another chance to make the clip we would manage our time more wisely so that we have more footage to use. I used a black and white filter to give the footage an aged look, as well as a vintage filter to darken the edges.

Magical Realism

In this video I played with the idea of Magical realism and how someone is affected emotionally into thinking that something is there when it isn't. Our idea was that the man is dreaming about his lost lover who he is seen with in his dreams but she isn't there because they are no longer together. I faded the beginning black and white footage into the dream-like footage to make it seem like he's dreaming. I gave the footage a romantic feel to reflect what the man is feeling emotionally. Some footage wasn't useable so it was hard to put together a full clip but I feel that this short clip shows what the full clip would look like. I definitely think theres room for improvement, for example, there could've been more footage at the beginning of the man in reality, perhaps stumbling across items that remind them of his lover. I also think that if we decided on what props to use we could've taken our ideas in a different direction than a romantic relationship. For example, we could've taken a more comical route of a dazed man imaging things are there after being intoxicated; the camerawork, mise-en-scene, editing and lighting could reflect this. For me, it was important to understand the concept of Magical Realism because the film that I am studying, 'Pan's Labyrinth', shows Magical Realism through the main character Ofelia's belief in make belief which distracts her from the struggles she has to cope with in reality.

Styles of National Cinema

1. Magical Realism
2. French New Wave 

Both styles go against the mainstream styles in Hollywood films.

MAGICAL REALISM

An aesthetic style or genre of fiction in which magical elements are blended into a realistic atmosphere in order to access a deeper understanding of reality. Magical Realism is a form of fiction which inspires many unique interpretations.

Examples: 

1. "One Hundred Years of Solitude", when one of the characters is shot and his blood trickles all the way across town to his mother.
2. "House of the Spirits" is when a girl with green hair floats away into the clouds because she is so pure.

A professor from Colombia said that "magical realism exists because for us it has to. Life is so bad so often that we can only be happy with the hope of the impossible."

FRENCH NEW WAVE 

A movement in French cinema in the 1960s, led by directors such as Jean Luc Godard and François Truffaut, that abandoned traditional narrative techniques in favor of greater use of symbolism and abstraction and dealt with themes of social alienation,psychopathology, and sexual love. Also called nouvelle vague.

Examples:

Spanish Civil War

BRIEF BACKGROUND

• In the 1930s, Spain was a deeply divided country that was politically torn between right-wing Nationalist and left-wing Republican parties. 
• The Nationalist party was made up of monarchists, landowners, employers, the Roman Catholic Church and the army. 
• The Republicans consisted of the workers, the trade unions, socialists and peasants.
• Economically, the country had been deeply hit by the Great Depression after the Wall Street Crash. 
• Partly due to this turmoil, in 1929 the military dictatorship that had ruled Spain since 1923 collapsed.
• In 1931 the King abdicated after the Republicans came to power.
• There followed a period where the two political rivals had periods in power as the elected government. 
• The country was so divided and unstable that in 1936 the army rebelled and forcibly removed the Republicans from power. Civil war ensued.

IMPORTANCE OF SPAIN IN EUROPE

• If Spain fell to the Nationalists, France would be surrounded by Fascist powers (Germany and Italy). 
• If France was invaded by Fascist nations, the alliances between other anti-Fascist nations would be weakened. 
• In effect, there would be one less nation to resist Fascist plans to expand their borders - one less army to stand up to them.
• Spain also had strategic naval bases on the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean that could be used by the Fascists to control shipping and for setting up submarine bases.
• These could be used to put military and economic pressure on other European nations.

THE RESULTS

• The better organised and better equipped Nationalist forces won the war after Madrid was captured in March 1939.
• Hitler's position in Europe was now strengthened since he had another potential ally in the right-wing dictator of Spain, General Franco.
• Participation and co-operation in the Spanish war strengthened the bond between Italy and Germany. As a result, the Rome-Berlin Axis was formed. Italy and Germany were now firm allies.
• By ignoring the Non-Intervention Committee and its chief architects, France and Britain, Hitler had shown his strength in European affairs.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/higher/history/roadwar/spancivil/revision/1/

H/W & Reading: National Cinema vs Hollywood

• Summarise 5 points the article makes about National vs Hollywood cinema:

1. Language barriers affect how universal a film can be
2. Globalisation is dominated by Hollywood
3. Avant-garde cinema superior to Hollywood
4. Hollywood transformed cinema into an industry
5. National cinema will survive if it keeps getting public funding

• What are the traditional associations with Global Cinema/Art Cinema and what was it's reaction to Hollywood?

Often people prefer to watch Hollywood films because they feel that they are better funded, produced and edited. However many question why Hollywood has become more popular than art cinema in the first place as independent films allow directors to be more creative.

• Why do Nations fund their own cinema, what should they reflect or re-enforce? 

Public funding promotes the nation and the art culture which draws in locals and tourists. They should re-inforce a country's unity and often the cinemas will promote films that promote their nations, such as Guillermo Del Toro's 'Pan's Labyrinth' which bases its story around the Spanish Civil War.

• What is the resistance to Hollywood cinema and it's dominance in European countries?

Most European countries have a resistance to Hollywood cinema because cinema originally started in Europe but was taken over by invested in Hollywood who funded more and more films, turning filmmaking into an industry and making films more generic. Hollywood cinema is now becoming more popular in European countries as Hollywood films are more globalised in order to make a larger profit.

• Why have some European films been less reactive to Hollywood? 

European films are less popular to Hollywood films because they have less money invested in them which can mean that they may not be directed, produced and edited as well as Hollywood films. This means that often people will choose Hollywood films over European films because they'd get more for their money. European films are often watched to support the art culture and the fact that original and creative ideas are still being produced.

People are now getting bored of the generic formula and looking to art cinemas for interesting films to watch. European films can reflect on real events that give the viewers something to think about whereas Hollywood films are often scared to take risks for fear that they won't get the money back from big production costs. However people still prefer Hollywood films because they often produce satisfying endings and stock characters.

• What is the balance audience want from Global Cinema? 

Most audiences would want European films to have more fundings in order to allow better production which gives them a wider audience and better appeal. However, this could de-value small productions films and how this actually makes them be more creative. These films should get more funding to be shown in multiplex's which gives audiences a chance to choose between films rather than just choosing Hollywood films.

• How can you apply this to the messages and themes in your film?

'Pan's Labyrinth', is a take on the Alice in Wonderland tale with Spanish beliefs. The director Guillermo Del Toro ties his story to the Spanish Civil War, post-war and the role of woman in society. Guillermo applies the genre of horror to the fantasy tale as the little girl finds  refuge in an imaginary world. This related to the grown-ups in the modern day world who often want to escape, and watching 'Pan's Labyrinth' is almost like an escape from the real world.

'Pan's Labyrinth' expresses messages and themes through the fantasy characters that the girl escapes in, for example, the Pale Man, is a monster who lures children to his feast, then eats them. The irony is that he has this luxurious feast in front of him yet he cannot eat any of it because he only eats children. This relates back to the Captain who is hoarding food and medicine to make the rebels come to him, and he has most of the food and medicine yet the rebels still won't come to him. In the film, the Captain also uses a banquet to host the other men. Which shows that there must be something false about his intentions with the rebels.

Pan's Labyrinth Study Pack

Pan's Labyrinth Make-Up

• Elvira Guijarro....makeup reinforcement
• David Martí....sfx makeup artist
• Martha Marín....makeup reinforcement 
• Mar Paradela....assistant makeup artist
• Carmen Picazo....trainee makeup artist
• José Quetglás....chief makeup artist
• Blanca Sánchez....chief hairdresser
• Lorenzo Tamburini....prosthetic sculptor
• Sandra Tejedor....auxillary makeup artist
• Arjen Tuiten....special makeup effects artist: The Pale Man, DDT 

 

Pan's Labyrinth Synopsis

Spain, 1944. The end of the Civil War. Recently remarried Carmen moves with her daughter Ofelia into the house of her new husband, coldly authoritarian Vidal, a captain in Franco's army. Finding her new life hard to bear, the young girl seeks refuge in a mysterious labyrinth she discovers next to the sprawling family house. Pan, the guardian, a magical creature, reveals that she is none other than the long lost princess of a magical kingdom. To discover the truth, Ofelia will have to accomplish three dangerous tasks, tasks which nothing has prepared her to face...

Pan's Labyrinth Authorship

• Pan's Labyrinth (2006) took shape in the imagination of Guillermo del Toro as long ago as 1993, when he began to sketch ideas and images in the notebooks he always carries. 
• The Mexican director responded strongly to the horror lurking under the surface of classic fairy tales and had no interest in making a children's film, but instead a film that looked horror straight in the eye. 
• He also rejected all the hackneyed ideas for the creatures of movie fantasy and created a faun, a frog and a horrible Pale Man whose skin hangs in folds from his unwholesome body.

DIRECTOR AND WRITER: Guillermo del Toro

In his filmmaking career, del Toro has alternated between Spanish-language dark fantasy pieces:

• The Devil's Backbone (2001)
• Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

and mainstream American action movies: 

• Blade II (2002)
• Hellboy (2004) 
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
• Pacific Rim(2013).

In addition to his directing works, del Toro is a producer, his producing works including acclaimed and/or successful films such as:

• The Orphanage (2007)
• Julia's Eyes (2010) 
• Biutiful(2010)
• Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)
• Puss in Boots(2011)
• Mama (2013)
• He was originally chosen by Peter Jackson to direct The Hobbit films; he left the project due to production problems but was still credited as co-writer for his numerous contributions to the script.