| Year of Release | 2007 |
| Director | J. A. Bayona |
Well here we go with something different with the Orphanage. I quite like Guillermo Del Toro’s directorial style. His films are off beat and quite unique. They aren’t for everyone, but he does tend to be able to create quite an air of magic about his films. In a way like a latin Tim Burton. I have to admit I have to be in the right head space to enjoy them. This one’s a spanish language film but has subtitles. I know this isn’t for everyone but its something different for me to watch. Hey, a bit of variety keeps life interesting.
THE PLOT OF THE ORPHANAGE
The movie revolves around young Simon, a boy of around 7-8 years old by the looks of him. He is an adopted only child and has imaginary friends. His parents are good folk and look out for him. They get a strange visit from an elderly woman claiming to be a social worker (she may well have been) who seeks to help them with an illness the young boy has. His parents politely refuse. This is when things start to get a little creepy. The social worker starts to lurk around the house at night. Why is she doing this?
Simons mother starts to ask him about his “invisibile” friends. It turns out his friends want him to go on a treasure hunt. He and his mother start finding special (hidden) objects around the house. The movie starts off with a kind of “Disney” feel. It turns a little dark when young Simon accuses his mother of lying to him and tells his mother he knows he’s adopted. His parents hold a party at the house and Simon Starts acting weird. He finds an old mask and attacks his mother. THen the child goes missing in mysterious circumstances.
Months pass and the boy still hasn’t been found. Did one of his imaginary friends have anything to do with it? what about the old lady? I guess you guys will have to watch the film to find out!
THE GORENOGRAPHY VERDICT
Overall, The Orphanage is a really cool film. It can be a bit hard going if you’re not mentally settled in to watch a subtitled film. I think its worth it. THere’s not a lot of gore or violence in the film so it may not be the thing you want to see if you just want a gore fest.
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