Orfanato, El (2007)

Réalisateur:

Juan Antonio Bayona

Scénariste:

Sergio G. Sánchez (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 janvier 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drame | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Accroche:

Un cuento de amor. Una historia de terror (A tale of love. A story of horror)

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Mother | Lighthouse | Children | Old Dark House | Knee Injury

Awards:

30 wins & 23 nominations

Avis des utilisateurs:

Beautifully Sad Catholic Fairy Tale

US Showtimes:

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Ensemble

Belén Rueda	...	Laura
Fernando Cayo	...	Carlos
Roger Príncep	...	Simón
Mabel Rivera	...	Pilar
Montserrat Carulla	...	Benigna
Andrés Gertrúdix	...	Enrique
Edgar Vivar	...	Balaban
Óscar Casas	...	Tomás
Mireia Renau	...	Laura Girl
Georgina Avellaneda	...	Rita
Carla Gordillo Alicia	...	Martín
Alejandro Campos	...	Víctor
Carmen López	...	Alicia
Óscar Lara	...	Guillermo
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Aurora

Autre(s) titre(s) :

The Orphanage (USA)
Orphelinat, L' (France) [fr]

MPAA:

Rated R for some disturbing content.

Durée:

105 min

Pays:

Mexico | Spain

Langue:

Espagnol

Couleur:

Couleur

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Son:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Classification:

Canada:18A | USA:R | UK:15 (2008) | Singapore:PG | Germany:12 | Argentina:13 | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-13 | Chile:Y7 | Brazil:14 | South Korea:15 | Ireland:15A | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Taiwan:R-12 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Spain:13 | Hong Kong:IIB

Emplacements De Pelliculage:

Barcelona, Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Company:

Esta Vivo! Laboratorio de Nuevos Talentos

Anecdotes:

Spain's Official Submission to the Best Foreign Language Film Category of the 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Pilar describes the old cine film that Laura views as 8mm, but when we see the projector, the film is actually 16mm.

Connexions De Film:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2008-01-05)" (2008)

Beautifully Sad Catholic Fairy Tale

Laura (Belen Rueda) returns to the orphanage she spent time in as a child with her husband Carlos (Fernando Cayo) and little boy Simon (Roger Princep) in hopes of re-establishing it as seaside retreat for children with disabilities only to find there may be some former residents who never left. In Juan Antonio Bayona's tightly wound "The Orphanage" nothing is as it seems and child's play takes on sinister overtones.

Bayona belongs to this new wave of Spanish-language directors (most notably Del Torro and Amenabar) who excel when it comes to creating moody atmospheric tales of the supernatural with Catholic overtones. Whereas "Pan's Labyrinth" took a dark fantasy approach to a Passion Play, "The Orphanage" is closer to the classic haunted house themes of "The Others" as it attempts to give a sentimental view of life after death. Be warned, "The Orphanage" is often more sad than scary, and those not familiar with Catholic mysticism might find things a bit hard to believe. As goes the film's mantra...Believe, Then You Will See. Those with the patience and the heart will be greatly rewarded as the audience doesn't necessarily have to Believe to relate to the characters who do.

Working from refined "less is more" psychological horror templates, Bayona delivers the formulaic goods. There will be a simplistic but heartfelt exploration of grief. There will be allusions to classic literature (in this case a very nicely done "Peter Pan" as Catholic allegory motif). There will be uncovering dark secrets from the past. There will be precocious children with spooky imaginary friends. There will be creaking set designs and manipulative sound effects to create "gotcha!" moments. There will be a creepy medium (an excellent Geraldine Chaplin) brought in for a séance. And there will be a twist at the end.

Thankfully, there is also a great performance from Belen Rueda as Laura. She gives a compelling portrayal of a woman devoured by her loss and achingly desperate for the truth no matter how horrific that truth might be. One must have a cold heart not to find sympathy with her, and even the most hardened audience member will find it hard not to feel that stray tear form in the corner of their trembling eye when all is revealed. "The Orphanage" offers nothing terribly new, but sometimes the same old ghost story presented in a beautiful way makes for the best type of cold-rainy-day entertainment.