pans labyrinth 1000 words

In this scene, which takes place after she has seemingly escaped Vidal, Ofelia is facing her final trial and, just as she did in the first two trials, she must confront a monster. As it appears she must confront the Faun, he vanishes through an over the shoulder shot by retreating off screen and Ofelia is left alone, abandoned by the magic world but it is then that the true monster she must confront emerges. Vidal enters the scene in its background but not in focus and it is the only time in the entire film that the magical and real world exist together. It is significant that Vidal is not in focus at first as the camera shifts him into focus whilst the shot progresses because it could symbolize the slow transition as Ofelia fades out of the fantasy and back into the harsh world of reality. Once he is behind her it transitions to an over the shoulder shot of Vidal looming over Ofelia, at this point she is staring down the physical embodiment of Franco's fascist Spain. The shot is also a high angle shot of Ofelia showing the audience just how powerless she is and how much of a juggernaut Vidal is. Vidal takes the baby from her hand, there is nothing Ofelia can do but watch as Vidal pulls out his gun, she turns for help but sees no faun nor rebels. Ofelia begins to speak but is shot before she can even finish the first word she is gunned down, continuing the theme of the films events and imagery being parallel  to Franco's fascist Spain as just like those against Franco were silenced so was Ofelia. Ofelia turns to face the camera, she is all that is in focus, turning our attention directly on her as Vidal fades out. the colours used are still the same mute shades of blue that have been associated with the real world throughout the entire movie, that is until she raises her hand and we see he blood which is a vibrant red, just like the fantasy world, which creates a stark contrast with everything else on screen, even the natural reds on her face such as her lips are a muted pink. this could represent the spirit of the fantasy world in her blood leaking out into reality and could imply one of two things, either the free spirit of childhood and Ofelia's vision clouded by fantasy succumbs to the harsh reality of the real world and the cruel post world she lives in, or it could represent the purity and magical nature of Ofelia and show the audience that she didn't belong in our world and while she looked human on the outside, her blood tells us she is magical on the inside. This is supported by the fact Vidal's blood is not as vibrant as Ofelia's.

 As Vidal leaves the labyrinth he is met by the rebels. It is at this point that he is surrounded by his enemies with his base in flames and all his men presumably dead, he gives up his son to his biggest enemies. Vidal's final moments are documented on his face as through a shot reverse shot of him looking at his watch as he decides what to say.  Even when facing death Vidal remains like a machine, emotionless, but his appearance has became unhinged and his once immaculate uniform that he had spent time polishing is now ruined with blood and creases, even his watch, which embodied his machine like nature, is now flawed and damaged highlighting the flaws hidden below the surface of the fascist regime . ironically as he speaks his final request, he is silenced ,just as he and Franco silenced others, and shot dead. it is at this point that Vidal's deterioration from the immaculate representation he was is used to parallel the instability of Franco's Spain and even though it will continue for many more years, the collapse of the fascist regime is inevitable.

The screen then fades back to the labyrinth as Mercedes and Pedro find Ofelia, Mercedes comforts Ofelia in her final moments as her blood drips down to below. the camera pans down to her hand and then we see the blood drops dripping into a display of circles, the stone with fourn, Ofelia and a baby on it comes into view, this highlights the foreshadowing that occurred earlier in the film as that is how the final trial originally was going to happen. As Ofelia comes back into the scene there is a golden glow from behind her and she begins to sit up and a movement match cut is used to transition her from the bleeding out in a labyrinth to standing in a golden palace, no longer bleeding and now dressed in regal clothes. She had fulfilled the task and spilt the blood of an innocent and just like with the frog and pale man, she had overcome the monster of Vidal, who in every sense of the word is just as much of a monster as the other two.

As she looks around there is an establishing shot of her new surroundings followed by a low angle shot of her father, displaying how powerful he is as the audience is looking up at him as high is high and mighty. The fourn then steps from behind the throne, now he is fully rejuvenated and looking much younger to show that the princess has brought the magic back to the land and the people in it.
As Ofelia smiles there is a cut from her smiling in her palace to her smiling back in the labyrinth while maceedes mourns, the camera then zooms out to an overhead view showing once again a circle and then the film ends as it began with a narration from the same voice showing what could be one of the meanings of the circles, the story is circular and ends as it began .