PAN'S LABYRINTH: Pale man and ending analysis
- food on the table was tempting to Ofelia, she disobeys the rules and eats two of the grapes because she is desperately hungry, after the civil war their is a lack in food supply, could have a biblical connotations of Adam and eve, when eve ate the apple
- symbolic of both the catholic church during that era in Spain, of fascists and greedy rich white men I'm general
- position of pale man at the head of the table is the same as Captain Vidal's position in a previous scene, likens the two. Vidal is portrayed to be a heartless, mean and disrespectful man. His main worry was his unborn son carrying his last name. he would kill anyone in the way without hesitation he shed's blood of innocent people and has no compassion. The pale man dines off the blood of children to survive. Vidal's love for tobacco alcohol and food can be seen as parallel to the pale man's feast
- his eyes being stuck in his hands means that he is constricted in his movements, as scary as he is he is at a disadvantage, just as fascists are constricted in their views. His movements are also quite rigid and awkward as a result, just like Vidal.
- del toro has said that the pale man is portrayed as pale skinned to represent a white male and the institutionalised evil feeding on the helpless; Ofelia is the helpless and the pale man is the captain
- the pale man sits at the head of the feast and anyone who wishes to partake will be punished, the same can be said for Vidal, he controls the rations of food and tobacco, he stores them in his lair which is the military outpost and refuses the starving Spanish people a reasonable ration
-there is a pile of children's shoes and clothes in the corner of the room could be a reference to the children clothes laid on the floor at Auschwitz, could be likening the pale man and so captain Vidal to Hitler
- colour red is prevalent, food items are dark red, colour of blood, shows the greed of those in viewer leads to bloodshed
- pale man is faceless monster, the shadow of an actual man, represents the way in which Ofelia views Vidal. audience is made uncomfortable by him due to the hints of humanity in his appearance, but the overall lack of it
- lighting is soft and lowkey, giving dream like impression, connote Ofelia's
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