Introduction to Pan's Labyrinth and City of God

Pan's Labyrinth and City of God are part of a two-film study in Section A: Global Film on the second exam paper Component 2: Global Filmmaking Perspectives.

You need to write about Pan's Labyrinth alongside City of God, though there is NOT a requirement for you to compare both films. Instead, you should focus half of your essay on this film and the other half of your essay on City of God.

In the exam you will answer one question from a choice of two. You should spend 60 minutes on your essay - roughly 30 minutes on Pan's Labyrinth and 30 minutes on City of God. The questions will be on one of the Core Areas of Study such as an aspect of film form (focusing on any of cinematography, mise-en-scene, editing, sound or performance), representation (of gender, ethnicity, age or social class), aesthetics (the overall style and feel of the films), or contexts (social, cultural, political, institutional, economic or technological). There is no Specialist Study Area for this section.

Clearly, then, there is a great deal to cover and regardless of the question you must make explicit references to key scenes from both Pan's Labyrinth and City of God to support your points.

Pan's Labyrinth is widely regarded as Guillermo Del Toro's definitive film, a movie which blends the fantasy genre with the harsh social realism of the war genre (set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War). Critically praised, the film received three Academy Awards (for Best Make-up, Best Art Direction - both awards for the film's mise-en-scene - and Best Cinematography.