In the opening scene, subtitles are used to tell us the year this was set in and that the Civil War is over. This is because the Civil War plays a key part in the film and most of the film focuses on the fascists while making the fantasy more of a side plot. There is a voiceover being played over Ofelia's, with a close-up of her head on her side. A blue, cold lighting is cast over her to show these are this is a dark ending. We then get a close-up shot of her eye to show her emotions. The camera zooms into her pupil which signifies going into the darkness which is the underground realm. We hear a voiceover wile showing us this world so we know what it is and why Ofelia escaped. As we get a deep focus shot of her running up these stairs. The camera then focuses on the light from outside signifying heaven and an escape from the bleak underground realm into freedom. This contrasts with before when the the camera zoomed into her dark pupils to enter the underground realm. An argument could be made that Ofelia thought up this fantasy world and is all inside her head. Her father has died so makes sense that Pan and the King acts as father figures for Ofelia. The Captain treats her with little respect due to being female and only cares for his unborn son. This could be why Ofelia is a princess in the underground realm and is important which the Captain does not regard her as. The enchanted creature takes the form of a fairy in Ofelia's book which shows this is what Ofelia sees him as. Another reason this underground realm is all in her head is because there are no one else her age there and after moving from the city into the rural area, she could dream this world up for her own fun.
We see Ofelia is reading a fairytale book which shows she's mentally escaping from the real world into a fictional fairytale world where she actually belongs. We get a POV shot of her exploring the forest. When Ofelia finds the eye shaped rock, this sets up for the rest of the film and triggers multiple events which leads her to the underground realm. Putting the eye back in place leads to the first magical creature she discovers which acts as the catalyst for Ofelia finding out about her life she never knew about. Her mother having the flu and Ofelia having to stop the car for her foreshadows her death as it shows she's not in good health. This will lead Ofelia to take charge and stand up for herself. Ofelia and her mother don't have a good relationship with each-other. This is shown when she tells her to stop reading fairytales and when she doesn't respond to Ofelia's claims that she saw a fairy showing she's the anti version of her. She also wants her to call the Captain 'father' which is something she should not expect from her as he is new to When Ofelia meets the Captain, we see he's a fascist who only cares for the unborn child. He want's to shake her right hand showing he likes to keep order and tradition just like how he keeps checking the time and does not like it when they're late.
When Ofelia is reading a story to her unborn brother, the Del Toro is very free with the camera, allowing to move the camera freely but is not shaky but a smooth camera movement. There is not cut in this film but transitions to the unborn baby, to the Thorn tree in Ofelia's story and back to the room. This is invisible editing as it makes it easier to watch than constantly cutting. Del Toro's free camera movement was shown before when her mother is sat in a wheel chair and the camera moves down to her baby who the Captain places his hand on showing his unborn son is the only thing he cares about. The Mother in a wheelchair and the Captain standing over her shows his dominance.
Second Scene- Meeting Pan
When Ofelia is introduced to Pan, he used his hands a lot which is the complete opposite to the Captain who's movement is very stiff while pan is very free with his hands. This shows he is a friendly character as he opens his arms in a warm, inviting and welcoming way. He acts as a father figure for Ofelia, guiding her on her quest as well as the King who is her real father. In another scene, Pan tells Ofelia off but later, he forgives her like a Father would do. This is why Ofelia is more attracted to this world as in the real world as she lost her father and isn't treated well by the Captain as she is seen as inferior in that world while in the underground realm, she is a princess. Pan has horns on his head which has similarities to the devil but is actually the complete opposite to him as his first words to Ofelia was 'don't be scared' showing he's a caring character who means well.
Pale Man scene
The Pale Man represents Fascism as it uses its eyes in its hands and sees only what it wants to see which links to the fascist regime as they believe their views are the only right one. The room likes like a church with stained glass windows and old murals depicting the pale man eating babies which looks like they have been there for hundreds of years which shows it was left undisturbed for a very long time as everyone in the underground realm fears him as he represents the devil of the underworld. There is a pile of shoes which links to the Nazis taking the clothes and shoes off the Jews. This is a direct similarity to the Captain having a feast which represents the pale man. This scene flips the meaning of lighting as warm lighting is used which is supposed to show comfort but this scene twists that by having the pale man in it. When Ofelia escapes back into her room, cold lighting is used which is supposed to show danger but in this scene, it is flipped to show the room as safety from the pale man. However, at the ending scene, cold lighting is used again when Ofelia is dying and warm lighting is used when Ofelia is reunited with her Mother and Father but in the pale man scene, it is the exact opposite. Ofelia is shown to be anti-authority and disobedient to Pan when she went against his orders and ate the food on the table. This is important as Pan wants Ofelia to be disobedient which she does in the final scene when she refuses to give her brother's blood to enter the world. The Captain shoots her and her own blood is used so she can enter. This was brave of Ofelia to go against Pan's orders as earlier, she promised to be obedient.
