El Orfanato
May. 31st, 2008 08:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annundrielMom and I just watched El Orfanato (The Orphanage). It was excellent. I'd definitely recommend checking it out.
In the last few years, I've become a fan of Guillermo del Toro's work and while this isn't one of his movies (though he is a producer), it has a lot of similar qualities: the key role of children in the story, the pacing, the color palate and camera work. It's a very nicely constructed film. I kind of want to watch it again and pick it apart.
Now, for spoiler-filled talk.
After Simon had been missing for six months, it was pretty clear things weren't going to end well. Mom and I both put together what we were sure was happening with Benigna and we kept hoping that maybe there was someway things would work out, but that was just wishful thinking.
Randomly, I was just sounding out Benigna's name to type it and the little bit of recognition I was getting over it finally made itself clear. It sounds, to American ears anyway, very close to "benign." I was going to say something about that possibly not meaning anything across translations, but Bable Fish says "benign" in Spanish is "benigno," so...Ironic. And on purpose? Hmm.
Anyway, after Laura found the doll in Simon's bed I began to worry. I thought it was obviously a clue, but then she didn't pursue it. Maybe she didn't even remember the game in all of her worry for her child. And then six months passed by. And then nine. The medium showed up and told her to listen. Meanwhile, I'm watching and my heart's breaking a little because they gave her the first clue and she wasted nine months before she realized what it meant.
So when Laura finally found Simon, I wasn't surprised when it turned out the only thing supernatural about his disappearance was the dead orphans trying to save him. Even the creepy kid in the hood was Simon. Well, except for maybe the part where he was standing in the garden, since none of the guests remembered seeing a hooded kid at all.
I thought the ending was beautiful. I loved the ties with Neverland, Peter Pan, and Wendy. Even the open window was there, along with the children begging for a story. I just found it very lovely. And then Carlos' smile at the very end with the breeze and the doors, finding the St. Anthony medallion.
But I did end the film in tears. Great big ones. I am a sucker for stuff like this.
Oh, much like El Espinazo del Diablo, I really liked that this was one of those movies where the frightening things turn out to be, well, not so frightening. They have their reasons, and while those might be to get revenge on someone, there's a good chance that they won't actually harm anyone else. It's kind of like at the end of The Sixth Sense when the kid realizes that the dead people aren't trying to hurt or scare him, they're just trying to communicate. And here, all the things that seemed sinister, actually weren't. I like that.
In the last few years, I've become a fan of Guillermo del Toro's work and while this isn't one of his movies (though he is a producer), it has a lot of similar qualities: the key role of children in the story, the pacing, the color palate and camera work. It's a very nicely constructed film. I kind of want to watch it again and pick it apart.
Now, for spoiler-filled talk.
After Simon had been missing for six months, it was pretty clear things weren't going to end well. Mom and I both put together what we were sure was happening with Benigna and we kept hoping that maybe there was someway things would work out, but that was just wishful thinking.
Randomly, I was just sounding out Benigna's name to type it and the little bit of recognition I was getting over it finally made itself clear. It sounds, to American ears anyway, very close to "benign." I was going to say something about that possibly not meaning anything across translations, but Bable Fish says "benign" in Spanish is "benigno," so...Ironic. And on purpose? Hmm.
Anyway, after Laura found the doll in Simon's bed I began to worry. I thought it was obviously a clue, but then she didn't pursue it. Maybe she didn't even remember the game in all of her worry for her child. And then six months passed by. And then nine. The medium showed up and told her to listen. Meanwhile, I'm watching and my heart's breaking a little because they gave her the first clue and she wasted nine months before she realized what it meant.
So when Laura finally found Simon, I wasn't surprised when it turned out the only thing supernatural about his disappearance was the dead orphans trying to save him. Even the creepy kid in the hood was Simon. Well, except for maybe the part where he was standing in the garden, since none of the guests remembered seeing a hooded kid at all.
I thought the ending was beautiful. I loved the ties with Neverland, Peter Pan, and Wendy. Even the open window was there, along with the children begging for a story. I just found it very lovely. And then Carlos' smile at the very end with the breeze and the doors, finding the St. Anthony medallion.
But I did end the film in tears. Great big ones. I am a sucker for stuff like this.
Oh, much like El Espinazo del Diablo, I really liked that this was one of those movies where the frightening things turn out to be, well, not so frightening. They have their reasons, and while those might be to get revenge on someone, there's a good chance that they won't actually harm anyone else. It's kind of like at the end of The Sixth Sense when the kid realizes that the dead people aren't trying to hurt or scare him, they're just trying to communicate. And here, all the things that seemed sinister, actually weren't. I like that.
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-01 05:36 am (UTC)I'm gonna post about it tomorrow, but we watched The Hitcher today with Sean Bean. Oh man. Was it ever a good movie. Not great - the end was a little "oh... well then." but it was such a good Sean Bean movie. So good. Kit and I needed mops to clean up after ourselves when it was over. ;)
(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-01 06:00 am (UTC)I made my mom watch this with me since I wasn't sure quite how much scary to expect. But really, only a very few scenes intense in a scary-type way. Like the medium's walk through the house. And maybe Laura finding Tomas' room, since at that point I wasn't sure if Tomas was good or bad. Oh! And the game of "one, two, three" with the orphans. I was worried something bad was going to happen, again because I wasn't sure about Tomas.
The only part that really made me jump, though, was when Benigna got hit by the bus.
Oh, The Hitcher. I kinda remember seeing things for that. And Sean Bean is always good.