The Orphanage

Starring: Belen Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Princep, Mabel Rivera, Edgar Vivar
Directed by: Juan Antonio Bayona
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
2007

Times Seen:
Tim: 1


Summary: A woman (Belen Rueda) is devastated when her son (Roger Princep) disappears. She launches a frantic search, but soon starts to suspect his invisible friends may be behind his disappearance.

Review:

Tim: I really, really enjoyed The Orphanage. I definitely don't watch enough foreign films, but this Spanish movie is proof that I need to do a better job in this department. This movie is fascinating for what it is- and what it isn't. I went into the movie expecting a fairly straightforward ghost story. The reality is that the movie and the plot are far more complex than they initially seem. That's impressive, and I appreciated the effort that went into this. The film's conclusion is fairly shocking and does create a bit of a blown-mind effect.

It's hard for me to explain too much, because I don't want to spoil anything. The movie is interesting and engaging because of the central mystery- what happened to her son? We get plausible explanations- kidnapped, run away; we get supernatural ones- ghosts, evil forces. I was genuinely interested to see where it would all go and how it would conclude. Even still, I wasn't prepared for the truth of the situation. It's a fairly powerful ending.

Going into this film, I expected a horror-type movie. That's not really what this is. There are a few tense, suspenseful (even frightening) moments, but this really isn't a horror movie. Viewers going in with that expectation could be slightly disappointed. This is really a drama with quite a lot of thrills thrown in.

The cast is pretty good. Belen Rueda was very good as Laura, our protagonist. I was unfamiliar with her before this film, but I was quite impressed. She gives a strong performance and makes us believe in her character. I also enjoyed Roger Princep as her son. I actually believe he could be a star, if he stays on the right path. He was excellent. The rest of the cast isn't quite as good as these two, but I didn't have very many complaints.

While I really enjoyed this movie, I didn't think it was truly great. There are a few plot holes in the movie, and there are a few loose ends that may or may not make sense, but it's hard to tell because they don't get wrapped up nicely. The movie is purposely ambiguous, but it was a bit frustrating in a few situations. I almost felt like the movie introduced some subplots just to throw us off track. While that might be intentional, it also feels like a little bit of a waste of time. I'm certainly not suggesting everything should have been spelled out for us, because I wouldn't want that. I simply hoped a few more pieces of the mystery would have been adequately explained.

Besides those few flaws, The Orphanage is a success because it defies expectations. It's not an easy movie to classify, at it's a drama, myster, thriller, has a few horror elements, and features the supernatural. It's a unique viewing experience, and rewards viewers with an unexpected climax. This is a really good movie.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



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