The Orphanage | Geraldine Chaplin, Carmen Lopez

The Orphanage | Geraldine Chaplin, Carmen Lopez | The Orphanage

DVDs:

The Orphanage

	The Orphanage Geraldine Chaplin, Carmen Lopez New Line Home Video, 2008 average customer review:based on 135 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

A woman, A boy and A House.

First let me say that I always research a movie before I buy it, even it that means just turning the case over and reading the back, Is it wide screen? Check. Is it English, or Spanish or German? Check, I do not just buy one because it's "supposed" to be "like" some other movie. Foreign movies offer us so much but so many people shun them because they cannot get past the subtitles "I couldn't read and watch at the same time" that baffles me, you can't drive and read road signs either? Or commercials with words? Not everything is in English, and let me give you a word of advice, listening to the dubbed versions is an affront to the movie makers and the actors in it. 90% of the movies charm and impact is in the voices, the sounds, the accents, open your mind a smidge and you will fall in love with foreign films as much as I have.

The Orphanage is not written by Del Toro, he is a producer. It is written by Sergio Sanchez and directed by Juan Antonio Bayona. Del Toros name is on the front, because he is a well known and well respected writer director and producer and the masses will identify that this movie has someone amazing backing it. You should not however think that this movie is supposed to be like Pans Labyrinth or Hellboy.

The Orphanage, La Orfanato is a skillfully made ghost/love story that is masterfully told and amazingly hauntingly beautiful. It's the kind of movie I wanted to see as a child, a story with everything!! It's not full of clichés, unless loving and losing a child is a cliché now? It's a ghost story, there is going to be similar aspects to other movies, but resist comparing it and begin to understand it better. God, it's so gorgeously saturated with grief and beauty and emptiness and longing and hope, I couldn't stop my heart from almost bursting.

I love when movies take back that frightening feeling with good old fashioned storytelling instead of fancy schmancy special effects like herky jerky motions and Computer generated craziness that you know isn't the least bit real. I would love to watch it in black and white one day!

Love the addition of Geraldine Chaplin as the Medium, Charlie's Daughter is a wonderful riveting actress!

So go rent this, buy it and I warn you don't watch it at night!

for more information click here

The Orphanage

You'll be creeped out, have your heart broke, and have it mended, all in one hour and a half. Well, maybe not, but if you're like me you will!
All I really knew going into this movie was that it was Spanish, and that that kid with the sack on his head scared the crap out of me! So I was pretty prepared for the scary stuff, but didn't think the movie would be so moving as well. In a way, it's not so much a horror movie, as it is a movie about dealing with loss. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of creepy moments in the movie...just not as much as your average everyday horror movie. Most the scary moments are due to atmosphere and tension as opposed to jump scares. So if you like the monsters popping out at you, you'll be bummed out. But if a sense of impending dread is something you enjoy, I think you'll dig the movie.

The movie's basic plot is this; A woman was an orphan, and moves back into her childhood orphanage as an adult in hopes to reopen it. Her husband and son move in as well, and her son begins to gain more and more imaginary friends. Where it goes from there, I will not say, but it's not always what you expect. I don't think it's much of a spoiler to say that the son goes missing, and from there the movie become much more of a psychological study of loss...and a rather good one at that.

The conclusion of the movie wasn't quite what I expected, but that's a good thing. The Orphanage is really a beautiful take of the classic Peter Pan story, and a movie I look forward to visiting again!

The movie is also beautiful on BluRay and a very nice upgrade from the DVD.

for more information click here

A Quiet Ghost Story with Old Fashioned Style

3.5 Stars.
I have a feeling that The Orphanage is not something most horror fans will be delighted about. It is a mysterious and atmospheric ghost story involving a haunted house, and it builds its tension slowly (like The Haunting from 1963, and Alien from 1979). It is Spanish with English subtitles (and apparently reading them is a huge annoyance for some reviewers here).

I will not get into the plot; the less known, the better. I will say that this is a film for people with a solid attention span who enjoy a moody film that features more anticipation of the unknown than it does cheap jolts or hatchets plunged into the head. It's worth mentioning that The Orphanage does feature a couple of ghastly/bloody moments, but not enough for lovers of modern horror movies.

What I mean to say is that if you think this might be a cool horror flick, you just might be disappointed. Horror has many little genres to it. Horror fans have different tastes. This film falls into the creepy ghost story category. In addition, it's not only a ghost story, but also a story about loss and family and revisiting the past.

I should also mention that The Orphanage becomes a potent mix of creepy and poignant, not unlike The Sixth Sense or The Others. If you liked the feel and look and mood of those films, you may enjoy this. It has good visual style and a very effective musical score.

So, turn away from this movie if your tastes lean toward big shocks, blood, revenge, and slashers. This won't satisfy that craving. But if you like films that feature a strong atmosphere of dread, dark hallways, things that go bump in the night, and the supernatural, give this a try.

for more information click here

Good movie!

I do like this movie with its uniqueness. It has a great storyline IMO. I just can't put my finger on why I cannot give it a five star (yet). Overall, I like it.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, page 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

products you might be interested in