El Orfanato The Orphanage

Juan Antonio Bayona, Spain, 2007, 100 minutes

Laura her husband and their adopted son move to the Orphanage where she was brought up and are trying to set up a new home for children with special needs. A big empty house next to the beach with a huge cave all overlooked by a disused lighthouse. Everything seems fine at first but after visiting the cave their son Simón gets six new imaginary friends, one called Tomás who wears a sack mask. But soon after the visit of a mysterious social worker Simón goes missing at the opening of the new special needs school. Has Simón been abducted, did Laura see him going into the cave and has he drowned and been swept out to sea or has she killed him and disposed of the body.

From the outset it is not clear if this film is a psychological thriller or a horror film and it dips into many other genres. Juan Antonio Bayona's directorial debut feature film may use many ideas that have been done before but pulls off a sharp film that seems truly original. The film was produced by Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth) and his touches can be seen throughout which only adds to the film.

The feature that pulls the film together and makes it stand apart from similar films is the excellent acting of Belén Rueda as Laura. She plays her role truly believably without faltering as a woman driving towards an emotional collapse.

This is the best film I have seen this year and if you didn't get to see this at its limited cinematic release you should see it now. When I came out of this film my muscles ached from the sheer tension and suspense. Do not miss this film.

Review by N. A. Grom
Written for EUFS Programme Autumn 2007