The Devil's Backbone (2001)

After Carlos - a 12-year-old whose father has died in the Spanish Civil War - arrives at an ominous boys' orphanage, he discovers the school is haunted and has many dark secrets that he must uncover.

Director:

Guillermo del Toro

Writers:

Guillermo del Toro, Antonio Trashorras

Stars:

Marisa Paredes, Eduardo Noriega, Federico Luppi

6 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marisa Paredes	...	Carmen
Eduardo Noriega	...	Jacinto
Federico Luppi	...	Dr. Casares
Fernando Tielve	...	Carlos
Íñigo Garcés	...	Jaime
Irene Visedo	...	Conchita
José Manuel Lorenzo	...	Marcelo
Francisco Maestre	...	El Puerco (as Paco Maestre)
Junio Valverde	...	Santi
Berta Ojea	...	Alma
Adrián Lamana	...	Gálvez
Daniel Esparza	...	Marcos
Miguel Ortiz
Juan Carlos Vellido
Javier Bódalo	...	Búho (as Javier González Madrigal)

Storyline

It is 1939, the end of three years of bloody civil war in Spain, and General Franco's right-wing Nationalists are poised to defeat the left-wing Republican forces. A ten-year-old boy named Carlos, the son of a fallen Republican war hero, is left by his tutor in an orphanage in the middle of nowhere. The orphanage is run by a curt but considerate headmistress named Carmen and a kindly Professor Casares, both of whom are sympathetic to the doomed Republican cause. Despite their concern for him, and his gradual triumph over the usual schoolhouse bully, Carlos never feels completely comfortable in his new environment. First of all, there was that initial encounter with the orphanage's nasty caretaker, Jacinto, who reacts even more violently when anyone is caught looking around a particular storage room the one with the deep well. Second, and more inexplicable, is the presence of a ghost, one of the former occupants of the orphanage named Santi. Not long after Carlos' arrival, Santi ...

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Plot Keywords:

orphanage | spanish civil war | tank top | gold bar | gold | 

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Taglines:

The living will always be more dangerous than the dead.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and some sexuality

Details

Country:

Spain Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

20 April 2001 (Spain)

Also Known As:

The Devil's Backbone

Filming Locations:

Talamanca del Jarama, Madrid, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$4,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$34,963, 25 November 2001, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$754,749, 5 May 2002

Company Credits

Production Co:

El Deseo,Tequila Gang,Sogepaq

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Spanish comic series "Paracuellos" by Carlos Giménez was an important source of inspiration. This semi-biographical work takes place in a Francoist orphanage during the early 50's. Giménez worked as a storyboard artist on this film.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[voice over narration]
Casares: What is a ghost? A tragedy condemned to repeat itself time and again? An instant of pain, perhaps. Something dead which still seems to be alive. An emotion suspended in time. Like a blurred photograph. Like an insect trapped in amber.

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Crazy Credits

During the opening credits sequence, the letters of the film's title can be seen floating around the preserved fetuses. Eventually, the letters come together to form the title.

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Connections

Featured in Horror Europa with Mark Gatiss (2012)

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Soundtracks

Besos fríos
Written by R. Romero and R. Lhoba
Performed by Raquel Meller
Courtesy Blue Moon Producciones Discograficas

User Reviews

Haunting, Sad And Beautiful

A beautiful, atmospheric story about a haunted orphanage. To date, I think it's Del Toro's most "complete" film, combining his trademark visuals with a very touching story about war, death, guilt and grief - and ultimately hope.

Like 'Pan's Labyrinth' the story is set against the backdrop of the Spanish civil war (although here the war serves merely as a background noise). The film is so beautifully shot that I would recommend it even to people who don't normally like ghost stories (it does have some scary moments, mind); this one transcends the horror genre. 8 stars out of 10.

In case you're interested in more underrated masterpieces, here's some of my favorites:

imdb.com/list/ls070242495