The Mise En Scene in Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth is used to develop the characteristics of the characters. Specifically, the prop, the watch, in  the opening sequence identifies what type of person Vidal is to the audience straight away. We learn that he is punctual and leader like, but also that he is a broken man. It also introduces the theme of morality, which is because the film was set after the Spanish Civil War.

The watch is logocentric and a metonym for Vidal, the watch stands in for everything that Vidal is. The clock face is cracked and broken, from when his father smashed it when he died, suggesting that Vidal is a broken man.  The watch also symbolises that Vidal is broken because of toxic masculinity (gender representation), his father smashing it so his son knew when he died suggests the toxic idea of “dying like a man” and acting “like a man” in general, we also get the idea that Vidal was told to do this by the way he treats women. Suggesting that although Vidal is an evil and cruel villain, he is also a victim.

The watch is the first thing we see of Vidal, implying how punctual and systematic he is to the audience, it links to him being leader since he is a captain. This could have links to obeying and therefore fascism as Vidal is obeying the time and making sure he does everything on time and systematically, including whatever he is instructed to do by people above him regarding the rebels.

The watch adds to the theme of morality after witnessing Ofelia’s death. The idea of time continuing and ticking forward reminds the audience that humans are not immortal and that their life will end. Especially since the watch was smashed by Vidal’s father when he died. This has links to the Spanish Civil War (1936 – 1939), which the film was set shortly after, as around 500,000 people died. The film could therefore be suggesting the fragility of life especially in war and presents  war and the results of war in a negative light.

The aesthetics are that the reader is reminded of death and morality which could have a Gothic feature link which is a genre that Del Toro often uses. This makes the audience feel uneasy as they feel something bad is going to happen regarding death, especially since they already know that Ofelia dies through dramatic irony. In terms of influences from other films, “Alice in Wonderland” can be referenced throughout the film. Ofelia like Alice enters another fantasy world, and it’s left ambiguous whether this world is real or fake. The watch has a link to the Alice in Wonderland character the, white  rabbit, with both Vidal and the white rabbit the watch is one of the first things we associate and see with that character.  As the white rabbit is a symbol for Alice’s search for knowledge an audience member may think that Vidal sparks Ofelia’s desire to understand what’s going on around her more as she is entered into a dangerous and new territory where Vidal is her biggest threat.