Pan's Labyrinth Opening Scene Analysis

The font in the opening titles could be associated with the font you could find in an old fairy-tale book, reinforcing the theme of fairytales which is present throughout the film. The opening shot begins with the ending. The colour palette which is dark blue and black, produces a dark, sinister and cold atmosphere. The movement of this shot together with the next one takes us from the underground then into the light. When the camera lies on its side next to Ofelia then zooms in to her eye, entering her head, it foreshadows where the entire plot takes place; in her head. The warm oranges, green and yellow tones of the following scene creates a significant contrast in the tone.

During the car journey, we see Ofelia absorbed in a fairytale book, this is the first impression we get of her. her mother tells her that she's too old to be fine her head with that kind of information, but later tells her she is too young to understand why she has to live with the Captain and refer to him as father - so she is stuck in a confusing place and so is determined to live in her fantasy world, as an escape from her reality. When Ofelia's mother is sick, the way Ofelia knocks on the window in the car shows that it's something that has happened before; she's used to it. When they get out of the car, she is keen to leave and explore the forest, to step into her own imaginary kingdom. When she finds a strange insect she automatically assumes it's a fairy even though it has no resemblance to what we would consider a fairy, further illustrating to the audience that she lives in a world of her own. Later on, when the 'fairy' reappears whilst Ofelia's mother is sleeping, she even shows it the book and it transforms into the shape of the fairy. This indicates that Ofelia may have a warped perspective of reality.

When Ofelia follows the 'fairy' and  we see the first glimpse of the labyrinth, the music changes, this shows that it is going to a significant part of the film. As she is chasing the 'fairy', Ofelia drops her books, but Mercedes picks them up and returns them to her, however her Mother disregarded them. When Mercedes refers to the Captain as Ofelia's father, Ofelia states several times he is not her father. This is something she is not allowed to do; she is already showing rebellious tendencies to Mercedes which could indicate she already feels she is a friendly person which she can trust, so it's clear from then that she is going to be the replacement maternal figure 

Upon first introduction to the Captain he mentions Ofelia and her mothers' lateness whilst glaring at his watch. This already indicates he has a fixation on time and order. He takes no interest in her mother but touches her stomach straight away, already clearly showing he prioritises his son. His movements are stiff and awkward and when Ofelia greets him with the wrong hand, he immediately grabs it and corrects her; an act of unnecessary violence. This further portrays him as a character who is cold and mechanical, his fascist nature results in him needing things to be done correctly.