The Pale Man

** New approach. Taking a look at things through my perspective.**

Synopsis

Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth is a gritty fairytale piece set in post-war Spain. It follows young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero)  as her stepfather, Capitan Vidal (Sergi Lopez) , terrorizes the rebels. Ofelia fights to save her mother and unborn brother by completing tasks given to her by the mythical fawn, Pan(Doug Jones). After her mother dies, Ofelia sacrifices herself for her brother and becomes a princess in a fantasy world. Pan’s Labyrinth

is a deeply layered film with stunning visuals and an intricately formed environment. Eugenio Caballero and Pilar Revuelta won the Oscar for bringing Del Toro's vision to life on screen through production design and art direction. Their collaborative effort was meticulous, artistic, and imaginative. Through their art, they take an inaccessible world and make it a hyper-realistic experience for the viewer.

The Pale Man's Den 
“The one who gorged on excess was banished to a den in the netherworld... He kept a watchful eye on a dagger… Once the blade was removed he collapsed unto himself and faded from existence.”(The Pale Man’s Legend) Del Toro drops twelve-year-old Ofelia into this den to complete the task of retrieving the Pale Man’s dagger. Beautifully capturing the era, this scene addresses all the themes of the film. As Ofelia works towards a right of passage, the boundaries between reality and fantasy fall away. The visual motifs comment on the connection between deviant behavior and a child’s imaginative ability to create monsters to explain that behavior. 

Ofelia's Room 
Upon arrival, Ofelia is instantly at odds with her natural world and retreats by reading a book of fairytales that come to life before her eyes. The color palette of her new room is shaded in blues, greens, and grays denoting a cold impersonal place. The sparseness suggests that it was furnished out of efficacy

 not embellishment. Despite the fact that Captain Vidal has money, he chooses to live in a world of strict utility. In a room with unconventionally high walls and low furniture, she is always placed in the lower third of the frame to subtly put forward the notion of submission. Ofelia is forced to reside in Vidal’s home and by extension she is confronted with a new set of values.
Concept and Construction 
When Ofelia’s book animates itself, the color palette from the fantasy world bleeds into her reality. Reds, golds, and browns fill the empty page demonstrating the dramatic contrast between her reality and the

fantasy world she is about to enter. She follows the magical instructions, drawing a door on the wall with magic chalk and when it opens an enchanted world is revealed.  The warm tones of the fantasy world are embryonic.  This is a direct reflection of Ophelia’s subconscious. Her young brother is about to be born and her mother falls ill. This threatens two lives that she deeply cares about. The color palette and shapes are uterine like her mother’s belly. They have 

biological and intimate connotations for Ofelia and the viewer.The contrast between worlds is showcased as soon as Ophelia enters the Pale Man’s chamber. She climbs into the entryway on a small wooden chair from her room, immediately creating a sharp distinction between reality and fantasy. The fantasy world is incredibly organic. Tree-like columns rooted in a red-checkered floor support the cavernous lair. Lights in the ceiling represent the lunar cycle. 

Monsters and Men
The first sight of the Pale Man sitting at his banquet table is extravagant. It is a direct replica of Vidal’s kitchen table in an earlier scene, making a strong comparison between the evil actions he commits, and the manifestation of a monster in Ofelia’s mind. The Pale Man sits motionless at the head of the table on a blood red throne. This visually establishes the monster’s power while comparing him to Vidal. Both characters are two-dimensional representations of malevolence. This is yet another visual representation of the link between Ofelia’s subconscious and her fantasy world. The fireplace behind the monster is a direct replica of his likeness. It

mirrors his eyeless face and gaunt jaw. The fireplace increases his menacing presence in the shot. The key light in the scene comes from directly above the monster causing harsh shadows and immediately denotes danger. The dome above the monster’s head displays hieroglyphic paintings of the monster throwing, stabbing, and eating small children. The images link the evil creatures inner workings with an ancient tradition. Each image is a more threatening foreshadowing of his capabilities. The paintings reveal the Pale Man’s evil nature while giving the chamber a sense of timelessness.
Brutal Disobedience 
As she leaves, she admires the beautiful feast placed before the Pale Man. The table is filled with ham, red gelatin, grapes, and wine.  Each treat is a dark temptation. The camera slowly pans across the feast and as the movement pauses the monster’s long pointed fingers are revealed motionless on both sides of 

a gold platter that holds two eyeballs. Against Pan’s warning she eats one small grape. The monster comes to life. This act of deviance shows Ofelia’s need to rebel against authority as she finds her place in adulthood. Rebellion in her fantasy world results in a near death experience and visually mirrors her entire coming of age experience, while referencing another commonly used mythological device. The Pale Man puts the eyes into the slits in his hands and advances towards Ofelia. 

He cannot see unless his hands are immobilized. This is an outward visual of the monster’s half-life curse. He stumbles and staggers giving the impression he hasn’t walked in several lifetimes. 


Sights for Sore Eyes

It took over six hours of make-up to get the pale man to look like the monster he does in the picture above. Dave Jones, who also played Pan the Fawn, was also the Pale man. He often had to wear the suit for thirteen hours a day. I'm sure things looked a little different from his perspective, but I must say... it was worth the effort.