Childish Games (2012)

Julia becomes an orphan and is taken in by Laura and Daniel, one of her father's childhood friends. The child makes Daniel remember the horrifying past he had chosen to bury.

Director:

Antonio Chavarrías

Writers:

Antonio Chavarrías (screenplay), Sergi Belbel (original story)

Stars:

Juan Diego Botto, Bárbara Lennie, Mágica Pérez

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Juan Diego Botto	...	Daniel
Bárbara Lennie	...	Laura
Mágica Pérez	...	Julia
Marc Rodríguez	...	Mario
Àgata Roca	...	Luisa
Nora Navas	...	Beatriz
Cristina Azofra	...	Clara
Adrián Bermúdez	...	Daniel niño
Pedro Muiño	...	Mario niño
Monti Castiñeiras	...	Alfonso
Dolors Tuneu	...	Chus
Maria Pau Pigem	...	Doctora Moreno
Carles Prats	...	Oriol
Celia Rico Clavellino	...	Canguro (as Celia Rico)
Txitxu Llamas	...	Sacerdote

Storyline

The teachers Daniel and Laura work at the same school and live together. Laura wants to have a baby, but her gynecologist has just informed that she cannot have children. One day, a weird man named Mario meets Daniel at school and asks him to visit his daughter Julia to help him but Daniel tells that he should go to the doctor to seek for help. A couple of days later, Mario commits suicide and Daniel sees on the front page of a newspaper. Laura tells to Daniel that they should go to the funeral and Daniel accepts her suggestion. When Laura sees Julia, she requests to be the temporary guardianship until a member of the family claims for her. Daniel is affected by the presence of Julia and calls her Clara. Soon a dark and creepy secret of Daniel and Mario's past haunt Daniel, affecting his relationship with Laura.

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Plot Keywords:

downward spiral | trigger warning | 

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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User Reviews

Flawed Screenplay Destroys a Promising Idea

The teachers Daniel (Juan Diego Botto) and Laura (Bárbara Lennie) work at the same school and live together. Laura wants to have a baby, but her gynecologist has just informed that she cannot have children. One day, a weird man named Mario (Marc Rodríguez) meets Daniel at school and asks him to visit his daughter Julia (Mágica Pérez) to help him but Daniel tells that he should go to the doctor to seek for help. A couple of days later, Mario commits suicide and Daniel sees on the front page of a newspaper. Laura tells to Daniel that they should go to the funeral and Daniel accepts her suggestion. When Laura sees Julia, she requests to be the temporary guardianship until a member of the family claims for her. Daniel is affected by the presence of Julia and calls her Clara. Soon a dark and creepy secret of Daniel and Mario's past haunt Daniel, affecting his relationship with Laura.

"Dictado" is a Spanish thriller with a promising idea, destroyed by a flawed screenplay that does not build tension and is more a drama than thriller or horror. Daniel has a serious childhood trauma and he is an educated man; so the logical attitude would be to decline the idea of going to Mario's funeral. Then, he should never accept to bring Julia home to keep his past far away. How Julia could know that Daniel is the Daniel of the monster of the stories told by her demented grandmother? Last but not the least, Bárbara Lennie and Juan Diego Botto do not show any chemistry. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Jogos Infantis" ("Infantile Games")

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Spain]

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

9 March 2012 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Childish Games

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Spain

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$419,559

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alebrije Cine y Video, Catalan Films & TV, Filmax International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color