The Orphanage was a really good movie. As long as you can keep up with sub titles. It was pretty scary, but it ended well, which I liked because most scary movies end gay!
But I loved it. Even though my brother kept scaring me the whole time. :]
5*s
This is a beautiful film from start to finish. If you like haunting ghost stories without the quick, senseless scares so common in other movies, you must see this.
The plot in this movie is kind of complex. The main character is a former orphan that purchases the orphanage she once live in. She has an ill adopted son who has imaginary friends. Her son goes missing and she has to unravel the mysteries of the orphanage and what happened to her son.
It has a completely original plot. It is less gory and more of a thriller suspense. If you love horror/thrillers and do not mind non-English films, it is definitely a great movie to see.
''Sometimes seeing is not believing. It's something in between...''
A woman brings her family back to her childhood home, where she opens an orphanage for handicapped children. Before long, her son starts to communicate with an invisible new friend.
Belén Rueda: Laura
Fernando Cayo: Carlos
Roger Príncep: Simón
Mabel Rivera: Pilar
Orphanage is directed by Juan Antonio Bayona and produced by Guillermo Del Toro and is not what I expected it to be like. More modern and realistic than anything remotely historical period fantasy.
Belén Rueda as Laura is utterly convincing in her protective mother role even though her child is adopted. Fernando Cayo as Carlos is the typical plain level headed husband who dismisses any supernatural reasoning for more practical thinking. Roger Príncep as Simón was very good as a troubled and haunted boy.
Orphanage to me seems like it's been inspired and taken from Silent Hill, the whole adoption thing and adopted Child circumstances laced with supernatural presence. Although it does succeed in not being very fantasy based but more gritty realism and what you can't see you fear.
Sounds and suspense is wonderfully used while darkness and twists, clues and revelations also thrown at us to boot. You realize as soon as it starts Orphanage isn't going to be a happy film but one of tragedy, loss and drama even having a Most Haunted-esque night vision scene with a medium.
Sudden frights re-occur when least expected as does more jigsaw pieces. Orphanage if I had to criticize albeit brilliant film it still is, would be some loose ends, unanswered questions and the quickness of the whole film. More detail and explanation plus flashbacks to explain what happened in greater detail to the children rather than not opting to explain it using imagery would have greatly enhanced the story perhaps.
I loved the trail of shells, the constant clues leading to more clues and the mysterious happenings surrounding the House. Gory scenes like an old woman getting run down sticks with you not to mention a deformed boy ghost who wears a sack mask is eerie.
After seeing it to conclusion I would say the valuable lesson here in El Orfanato is that happiness is sometimes illusion,unreal and something that our dreams are made of. Reality when we come crashing back to it, that's the heart breaking tragedy, the bite of life's harshness and thats the point. That life isn't all fun and games and happy endings like many Hollywood films go for and it's a brave Director or film maker who strays from this and goes for a more braver approach.
Seeing isn't always seeing, it's only your perception of reality. The tragic climax feels heart crushing yet in another perspective, is happy in a way.
A bold effort Orphanage that deserves to be watched if you enjoy Foreign Films or Supernatural Realistic Films.
Frankly, I don't know what to say. This film is just marvellous. I know that it's not the first ghost movie ever made in the history, but which is it? Are we going to diminish it for that? It's silly. This film is trully great. The story is touching and moving. The ending is just perfect. And it really scared me when it wanted to. Plus, seeing "el señor barriga" there is priceless. And only those of you who have grown up watching "El chavo" will understand what I'm talking about. I'm only giving it 4 and a half stars because I cannot help comparing it with Pan's Labyrinth (which is of course better than this one cause it's just excellent), maybe because this movie screams "Guillermo del Toro"!!! Anyway, You have to watch this.
Directed by:Juan Antonio Bayona. Starring: Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Geraldine Chaplin, Montserrat Carulla, Mabel Rivera, Roger Príncep.
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The story follows former orphan Laura, who is now an adult with a husband and child, moves into the orphanage with her family where she once grew up. The son Simón is HIV positive and talks of five invisible friends of his in the orphanage, which the parents play along with. When Laura decides to reopen the orphanage to other needing children, a mysterious masked boy appears and Simón goes missing. Soon the past unravels as she tries to search for her son.
I always love being surprised by a horror film. It is so rare nowadays to even be given a horror that is anything of value, seeing as 'torture porn' is the only talent that hollywood has, seeing as they lack in anything else. I have always found foreign countries to be delivering the goods...Japan, China, Thailand...and of course Spain and The Orphanage is another to add to the list of greats.
Sold under Guillermo Del Toro's legendary name as 'producer', the first time writer and director manage to deliver the film themselves and its more than just a name that will continue to sell this film. Juan Antonio Bayona takes some familiar elements (slow use of camera movement, a couple of cheap shocks) but does so with such skill and grace. The tension is weaved thick as we are introduced to the house and the unknown. With some slick and superb cinematography...and some top notch sound and editing, Juan deftly crafts and balances the film nicely and chillingly on its two main levels...the supernatural and the emotional.
The screenplay has much to offer, but does lack that little something that made me lower my rating by half a star. Without spoiling anything, the main problem I had was the minimal amount of focus on the main characters scenes as a child with the children of the orphanage, which trims the films major emotional impact a little in later scenes. But having said that, the film is beaming with so much. Not only is it a rather chilling and convincing take on the supernatural and the unknown, with a rather fascinating and intense delivery, but it touches upon many strong character themes, such as the horror of loss and guilt and the bonds between a mother and her child...its a strong point here and adds another level underneath the amazing visual content.
The Orphanage is an incredible film. Along with some great performances (especially the surprising presence of Roger Príncep, who at 9 years old is stronger and more convincing than a majority of the cast), the film delivers undeniably chilling scares, tension and atmosphere, that is nicely balanced with the strong themes of loss and guilt. A must see.
Como suspense é um filme que passa por bom entretenimento, especialmente porque cuida dos detalhes técnicos e porque tem uma boa direção. Tenta ser uma mescla de terror com fantasia, o que pode ser interessante e, ao mesmo tempo, perigoso - ou poético, depende do ponto de vista.
El Orfanato is a fantastic sample of Spanish cinema regarding their talent to manage a wonderful cinematography, a cool ghost story, great settings and a good acting. Very recommendable and scary.
ok, first time in my life i watched a spanish movie. it was pretty cool though. ahhaa. this movie is kind of ok.SMART.UNEXPECTED ENDING. SIMON is so cute. coollah movie ni sebab die laen daripada laen and sedey also(i hate ghost stories with kids in it!) i cried and screamed throughout the movie. it's definitely worth the ticket.
NOT a horror, but a GHOST story with very few ghosts. Well-acted tho.
Kind of a cross between THE HAUNTING & THE OTHERS, with the gentle background story of DEVILS BACKBONE thrown in (its nothing like PANS so skip it if thats what ur expecting).
suspense with a touch of horror. truly excellent. a better story than its comparisons, and if it is derivative, it is so far superior that it ceases to matter. recommended.
"A tale of love. A story of horror" Melihat film ini mengingatkan gw akan film jepang "Honogurai mizu no soko kara" dan remake-nya "dark water". Tagline-nya pas sekali dengan inti ceritanya, bercerita tentang cinta anak dan ibu yang dibalut suasana horor, karena kedua nya berbeda dunia. Mungkin terkesan tidak begitu original, tapi suasana horonya dapet banget, tanpa harus menampilkan setan-setan yang menghebohkan.
Really wasn't original in the overall plot of the movie, but the style is quite refreshing. Well directed scenes to excel the creepiness. Ending is quite original, which made me think of The Others.
I have not seen a lot of foreign language films but I have to say that for a horror/fantasy/drama, El Orfanato would probably rank very high in my list of movies with shocking and heartbreaking endings. I almost cried when Laura finally realized what happened to her son. Belen Rueda nailed her role as a mother who suffered from the loss of her son and to find out how he died when she did all she could the save him.
Uno, Dos, Tres....toca la pader! The scene where she pulls her nail off was icky. The part that creeped me out the most was when a car ran over Benigna and Laura is looking at her.
Finally got the chance to watch this movie. Been wanting to since it came out in theaters. I have to say that I usually don't get scared watching horror movies, but there was a couple of moments that had me jump a bit. Scares aside, this movie tells a very chilling story with rich, well-rounded characters. Most horror movies these days just simply go for the scares and never give us characters to sympathize with. But not this movie. The story draws you in just as much as the scares. It also helps that this movie has a strong cast who all give great performances. Produced by Guillermo Del Toro, this movie definitely has that Pan's Labyrinth feel to it. Sort of horror and fantasy mixed together, though this one leans more toward horror where Pan's Labyrinth was fantasy. Either way if you're looking to watch something that will give you some good scares but also tells a great ghost story, you should definitely check this movie out. It's one of the best horror movies.
The whole movie is such a beauty!!! (Thou Pan's Labyrinth is still my favourte)
A meaningful story and solid acting, the screenplay and the sound score are fantastic!!!
I have severly underestimated this film... it was great storytelling and cinematography... Guillermo Del Toro strikes another one with this suspense yarn of fantasy and ghost stories. Bravo!!!
Sometimes predictible but a good one movie... more than a terror film, this is a psicological thriller... By the other side, it reminds me Silent Hill's movie in one scene...
I don' t know why but laughing kids always seem to creep me out. So in the first part of the movie I had my hand over my eyes freakin out. The movie turned out not to even be a horror movie and I really liked the ending and the whole Peter Pan reference.
MCT:June 11, 2008
MCT:June 11, 2008
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