OOPS - GOT THE WRONG DIRECTOR!
LET THE HAZING BEGIN: here's a review that names the TRUE director, not the producer as I'd mentioned earlier. I'm rather red faced at the moment...
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.
I'm too ashamed to type - Gave another man credit he wasn't due. None the less - a wonderful film. Go ahead and make fun you distant crowd. I know you will. Only keeps you minutes away from the video store, and further from a good film! No matter who produced it.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
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3 comments:
Uhhh, not to beat a dead horse, but "Presented by" does not mean "directed by". I figured you need a comment for this section. I didn't actually read the post, other than your part. I don't read/listen to reviews of music or movies anymore. I'll find out what the movie is about, but I don't need some hack to tell me what he/she thinks of it. You can't critique art; it makes no sense to do so whether it's for the positive or the negative.
Further to the above comment, I think reviews are fine, it's only critiques I have a problem with.
Uh - Hack? Hope the winter trip is still on, you're seriously sounding like you need to get laid! Such a meanie, geez. In the meantime, however; check out the film - it's stupendous; regardless of who/whom directed/presented it.
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