Rufus's Film Blog

 Right from the start Pan's Labyrinth works to establish a contrast from the real world and the fantasy world, using  mise-en-scene and the atmosphere of the environment to do so. The opening scene displays light colours, creating a warm feel and connoting with ideas of freedom and youth when we see Ofelia. However, this is almost instantly opposed when we meet the general, Vidal. The colours change from warm and vibrant to cold and sinister, lines go from playful and squiggly to straight and sharp, highlighting Vidal's harsh demena and the sobering truth of reality. There are several POV shots in the opening scene that help demonstrate Ofelia's youth, and her wonder with the world. When she looks up to the sky and through the trees there is an almost magical feel, establishing the 'fairy tale' world we will experience throughout the film. This use of Cinematography is then followed by the giant bug that Ofelia sees climbing from an ancient stone carving. This once ...

 The cinematography in the opening of The City Of God is one of the crucial elements that adds to audience response. The first sequence of the film has very cold lighting, even though it is in sunny Brazil. There is a blue tint on the camera lens, making the environment feel almost alien to us as the audience. Most of the time we can't even see the children's faces as they chase the chicken, distancing us emotionally from the characters. There is a massive contrast however when we go back in time to the 60s. The lighting immediately changes, transitioning from a cold harsh light in the first sequence, to a warm softer light. This perhaps conveys the difference in violence in the eras, and how much has changed. The camera handling is also very shaky in the first sequence, moving in and out so quickly we can barley focus on what is happening, creating an intense feel of violence and animosity straight of the bat as they chase the chicken. The camera angle is also almost always on...