Practise Question response

How does the Narrative position the viewer in the 2 films and how is this used to create contrasting messages/ideas?

The two films use first person narrative in order to get across the opinion of the main character. This means that the viewer only gets an insight into one characters thoughts. In Amelie, the audience is shown a very biased view of France as being the 'City of Love' but in fact it is about a child trapped inside an adults body, and nothing is truthfully presented throughout the film. In Pans Labyrinth, the main character, Ofelia, is characterised as the princess, and the viewer is revealed to the negative effects of war. The main message that is being conveyed in Amelie is that we are being shown things that aren't exactly real, whereas in Pans Labyrinth a more realistic narrative is presented through the events of the Spanish War.

Peter - In Pan's labyrinth i believe that there are two different points of view in the story, when you are seeing the world in the state of war that is the view of the people in spain at the time you, are only perceived to see it through the eyes of Ofelia. I believe that when you see the mystical world I believe that is through the eyes of Offaly to show that this is her kind of escapism from the real world and the real spain, this is used to show a child innocents. I believe that their is two points of view in the film you could almost ague three as you get to learn the story of the maid and her family as well.

Pans Labyrinth portrays a very typical representation of children as they do have imaginations and act differently. It also gives the viewer an insight into the historical issues about the Spanish Civil war, which has been the main factor to Ofelia's fantasies. The message that has been put out by the director is that there shouldn't be war as it mentally effects youth, and doesn't solve problems. However, in Amelie there isn't a clear message that is being highlighted. The main character Amelie is making positive things happen and is receiving positive things back, reinforcing the idea that in Paris you get what you want and everything turns out positive which, in fact, doesn't happen in real life. This disconnects the viewer as they can't relate to what is happening in the film and there is no real message behind everything that has happened.