The Orphanage (2007)

A woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage for handicapped children. Before long, her son starts to communicate with an invisible new friend.

Director:

J.A. Bayona

Writer:

Sergio G. Sánchez (screenplay)

Stars:

Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Príncep

32 wins & 41 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Belén Rueda	...	Laura
Fernando Cayo	...	Carlos
Roger Príncep	...	Simón
Mabel Rivera	...	Pilar
Montserrat Carulla	...	Benigna
Andrés Gertrúdix	...	Enrique
Edgar Vivar	...	Prof. Leo Bálaban
Óscar Casas	...	Tomás
Mireia Renau	...	Laura niña
Georgina Avellaneda	...	Rita
Carla Gordillo	...	Martín
Alejandro Camps	...	Víctor
Carmen López	...	Alicia
Óscar Lara	...	Guillermo
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Aurora

Storyline

Laura, a former orphan, raises her adopted son Simón together with her husband Carlos in an old house and former orphanage where she was raised. While at the orphanage Simón tells Laura that he has five invisible friends which she believes are a product of his active imagination. Laura decides to reopen the orphanage to cater for disabled children and throws a party. During the party Simón tries to persuade Laura to go and take a look at his friends cabin but she's too busy. Later on she sees a mysterious masked boy and realizes that Simón has also disappeared. Laura feels the presence of other people in the house and months later Laura invites a team of parapsychologists to try to unravel the mystery.

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Plot Keywords:

orphanage | dead children | missing child | orphan | female protagonist | 

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Taglines:

Och barnen fortsätter att leka... (And the children continues their game, the children continues to play)

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some disturbing content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] Official site [United States]

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

11 January 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Orphanage

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

EUR3,400,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$233,323, 30 December 2007

Gross USA:

$7,161,284

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$78,638,987

Company Credits

Production Co:

Esta Vivo! Laboratorio de Nuevos Talentos, Grupo Rodar, Rodar y Rodar Cine y Televisión

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Spain's Official Submission to the Best Foreign Language Film Category of the 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008).

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Goofs

Pilar describes the old home movie that Laura views as 8mm, but when we see the projector, the film is actually 16mm.

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Quotes

Simón: [while reading Peter Pan] Wendy grows old and dies?
Laura: Wendy grows old, but Peter Pan takes her daughter to Neverland every year.
Simón: Why doesn't Wendy go, too? If Peter Pan came to get me, would you come, too?
Laura: No. I'm too old to go to Neverland, darling.
Simón: How old are you?
Laura: Thirty-seven.
Simón: At what age will you die?
Laura: What sort of question is that? Not for a long time, until you're very old.
Simón: I won't grow old. I'm not going to grow up.
Laura: Will you be like Peter Pan?
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Pieces of wallpaper are peeled off to reveal each of the opening credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Viande d'origine française (2009)

User Reviews

A satisfying thriller on one hand; an equally rich emotional journey on the other

I went into a screening of this today knowing only that it was about a woman who buys the home she lived in as an orphaned child, planning to open it to other orphans, that it mixed fantasy and reality, and that Guillermo del Toro of 'Pan's Labyrinth' had a hand in it. I didn't have any expectations. Even if I did, I certainly not have expected what I got. 'El Orfanato' surprised me first in successfully thrilling me with its surface, and surprised me again in how deeply it moved me with its core.

When Laura (the marvelous Belén Rueda) moves back into the house that used to be the orphanage she lived in as a girl, she is thirty-seven, married, and she and her husband have adopted a son - Simón, a little boy with HIV who doesn't know that he's terminally ill or adopted. Simón is wildly creative - he has several imaginary friends and a penchant for treasure hunts, mind games, and the story of Peter Pan. One day shortly after a mysterious visit from a social worker and Simón's revelation that he knows the truth about his adoption and illness, Simón disappears. The rest of the film follows Laura's desperate search for her son as she comes to terms with her loss and her own past as well.

Screenwriter Sergio G. Sánchez does a masterful job of balancing the thriller with the drama. Laura's attempts to connect with everything that haunts her and her home are darkly touching, though slightly psychologically twisted. The acting is strong, and the directing, editing, cinematography, and music all work together well. Some of the sound effects - the constant creaking, wind blowing, etc. - got wearisome as the film went on, and some of the thrills were a little cheap - I won't ruin it for anyone by revealing them - though, admittedly, they were effective all the same. The story dragged a little towards the end and during the scene with the medium - cutting it just a little shorter might have been equally as effective and easier on the viewer.

Bottom line: even if you don't like "scary" movies (like me), you'll probably still appreciate and enjoy the more thrilling aspects. If you're a horror flick buff, you'll probably find some of the thriller elements a little tired and overdone. Either way, it's still worth seeing - the exploration of Laura's heart and mind are both lovely and tragic to behold, and though the film is morbid, it is beautiful as well.