Wednesday, 26 March 2008

The Orphanage

Cast
Belén Rueda
Fernando Cayo
Roger Príncep
Mabel Rivera
Andrés Gertrúdix
Montserrat Carulla
Geraldine Chaplin
Screenwriter
Sergio G. Sánchez
Director
Juan Antonio Bayona
Running Time
105m 36s

Laura returns to the stately manor house that holds such a special place in her heart. The orphanage was abandoned years ago; Laura and her husband, Carlos, plan to reopen it as a center for sick and disabled children. It will be a place where boys and girls--including the couple's beloved 7-year-old Simón--can play freely in the open air, enjoying the sunshine and the nearby beach. In its years of solitude, however, the orphanage has acquired a haunted, unhappy air. To get used to his creepy surroundings, Simón starts to have relationships with imaginary friends. Simón's circle of unseen friends quickly expands to include five more boys and girls, who tell cryptic stories and engage him in elaborate games that carry a suggestion of the sinister. Troubled, Laura allows herself to get sucked into her son's eerie world, which seems to resonate with a far-away and disturbing echo of her own childhood experiences. (Picturehouse)


A great scary atmospheric ghost story.