Being There

Amazingly, the computer at Hollywood Video managed to make a great movie recommendation when it told me that The Orphanage (El Orfanato) belonged in the “overlooked but great” category. Upon watching this movie, I totally agreed with the “great,” and I’m hoping the “overlooked” only applies to the sort of people that mechanically rent the latest Will Ferrell/Bruce Willis vehicle and refuse to expand their movie-watching horizons.

But enough about that. Let’s talk about dead orphans.

The Orphanage is directed by Juan Antonio Bayona, an apparent protege of Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth anyone?), who produced the film. I’m not going to classify it as a horror movie, but the elements are there. Laura, her husband, and their small boy live in an old, beautiful house on the Spanish seaside - the very same house that Laura grew up in when she was an orphan herself. She wants to give back by making the house into a place of refuge for disabled children, but the sudden disappearance of her son (who seems to have a lot of invisible friends…) drives her into a world of loneliness, despair, and mystery that can only be solved by connecting with the past and the world of the dead.

More than competently acted in just about every role, The Orphanage keeps the viewer’s attention either through well-crafted suspense or the sheer beauty of the cinematography. I suppose you could call some of these suspenseful moments “horror” moments, but really, the film isn’t mainly out to scare you. It’s more about solving a puzzle, one that involves delving into Laura’s past in a way she probably never thought possible. Bayona’s tone is dark and he’s unafraid of realistic violence (though there’s not a lot of it), but I’d classify The Orphanage as an adult fantasy film or a psychological thriller before I’d call it horror. It’s very much in the same vein as Pan’s Labyrinth, but it’s not a carbon copy, and stands on its own as a wonderful film.

I’m not going to spoil the ending or much of the other puzzle-solving parts of the film, because really that’s what draws the viewer in, hooked from the start as the real story of the orphanage house slowly unravels. But I will warn you - the ending is one of those happy and yet incredibly sad type deals. I doubt you’ll be able to brush your viewing experience off as easily as you might if you rented, say, Semi-Pro, instead. It’s worth it to branch out on this “overlooked” gem, though. So if you don’t mind Spanish and subtitles, I highly recommend you do just that.