[BLU-RAY Review] EL ORFANATO
As soon as I saw the trailer for El Orfanato (or The Orphanage if you prefer) I knew that I had to see it. It looked stunning, and the knowledge that Guillermo del Toro was involved as a Producer just raised my expectations and interest in it. So I was more than happy to receive a copy of it on Blu-Ray to review, but could it possibly live up to my expectations?
El Orfanato tells the tale of a family who move to an old abandoned orphanage that used to be home to the mother, Laura (played by Belén Rueda) when she was a child, where they are hoping to re-open it as an orphanage for disabled children. Not long after they move in their adopted son, Simon, starts talking to invisible children, but as he has always had imaginary friends his parents are not too concerned by his behaviour.
That is, until Simon goes missing. Soon Laura believes that these invisible children are responsible for her son going missing and she begins a quest to find out just what is happening at the orphanage.
And that synopsis doesn’t do this movie justice. In a cinematic world where horror movies seem to have become an excuse to try and sicken the audience into being scared, with movies like Hostel and the Saw franchise, this movie from first time director Juan Antonio Bayona is like a breath of fresh air. There is a creeping dread throughout the movie that quickly gets under your skin and doesn’t let go until the final act, with the build up almost unbearable at times.
There are moments that most directors would have used loud noises to convey the “shock” to the audience of what they had just seen on screen, but Bayona seems to have preferred to let the moments speak for themselves, and they are much more shocking for the complete lack of musical build up - seriously I actually jumped during this movie and it has to be said that that doesn’t happen very often to me!
But this isn’t just a horror movie. It’s also a very effective fantasy and a very moving drama. And the switch between them is so subtle, and so clever, that you are left with a feeling of sadness by the end which is tinged with happiness. I know that possibly doesn’t make much sense but trust me, if you watch this movie, you’ll understand when it finishes.
But with a nigh on perfect direction for a movie the cast has to be just as good and I am happy to say that the small cast involved in this movie are perfect throughout. Roger Príncep who was only 8 or 9 when the movie was made, is stunning in the role of Simón, completely believable and likeable throughout and utterly amazing that this peformance came from a relatively inexperienced young actor. Equal plaudits should be given to Belén Rueda as his mother, Laura. From the begining of the movie her gradual decline into despair and possibly madness is handled brilliantly and she never once missteps in the role of the desperate and grieving mother trying desparately to find her son.
While these two are the main focus of the movie, they are ably supported by the rest of the cast, and it is heartwrenching to watch the deteriation of Laura and her husband Carlos’ (played by Fernando Cayo) relationship as they try to deal with their sons dissaperance in different ways. And then there are the parapyschologists who come in to try and help, who are also totally believable.
So a fantastic cast, married to a fantastic director. But it’s the Blu-ray release so how is the picture? In a word…..
Fantastic!
The picture is of a consistently high standard, with solid colours throughout and amazing detail to everything. The colour palette is very muted, mainly being beiges, greys or blues but when a bright colour appears it stands out amazingly, and the Spanish countryside looks truly stunning.
The sound is also of very high quality, with the strange noises and atmosphere a plenty to draw you into the story and jolt you when needed and is presented in Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 or Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. There is no English dub available on the disc, but trust me the Spanish language track doesn’t disappoint and the subtitles are easy to read throughout.
Special Features
UK Exclusive Q&A with Director J.A. Bayona & Sound Designer Oriol Tarrago at Curzon Mayfair (40 min) : Hosted by Mark Kermode this is a pretty interesting and entertaining Q&A, with some great information from Bayona on the making of the movie and more than makes up for the lack of a commentary track and features an amazing response from Mark Kermode when Bayona asks why Americans don’t like subtitles! Very, very funny.
Making of Featurette (12 min) : This feels like a pretty standard “making of”, with a look behind the scenes during the filming and the usual “talking heads” but is still pretty interesting, even if it is a little lightweight.
The Set of The Orphanage (2 min) : A very short look at how they built the interior of the house from scratch on a soundstage.
The Sound of The Orphanage: Sound Designer Oriol Tarrago takes us through the scene with the parapsychologists, showing how the scene came togeather with all the different sound elements.
Interview with Guillermo del Toro and J.A. Bayona (8 min) : This is a very entertaining interview between del Toro andd Bayona, with the friendship between the two obviously apparent and a wealth of information from del Toro on why he was invovled and the themes and issues in the movie.
Lighting the Darkness (5 min): This gives a look at the different lighting used during the course of the movie and how they matched up the interior shots, which were shot on a stage, with the exterior shots.
Roger Princep: The Casting: An interview with the young actor who played Simón, in which he discusses how it feels to star in a movie he can’t watch and how he doesn’t like scary movies!
Deleted Scenes: A collection of deleted scenes, including an alternate opening and ending to the movie, with a voice over from Bayona in which he explains why each scene was deleted or changed.
Storyboards: 3 scenes from the movie are presented here in storyboard form, with the final cut playing in comparison.
Shooting the Credits: A look at how they filmed the opening credits for the movie.
Animatics: A look at some of the animatics used to plot the filming of certain scenes, again with a voice over from Bayona.
Trailers
Projections: These comprise footage used during the movie from Laura’s childhood, here presented in their entirity and looking as if they had been filmed on an old hand held camera.
All in all, this is a fantastic horror cum fantasy movie, and the Blu-ray has an exceptional picture, so if you are in the mood for a more psychological/thoughtful horror than the ones we seem to be getting from Hollywood I heartily reccomend that you go out and purchase this disc. Now.
Obvioulsy, if you don’t have a Blu-Ray player go for the DVD release though, which comprises the same extras.
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4 Responses to “[BLU-RAY Review] EL ORFANATO”
Stale Popcorn must be tracking my Netflix que or something…First Rambo and now a review of the Orphanage. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who has not seen it yet. The only part of this movie I did not like was the obviously tacked-on opening credits trumpeting Del Toro’s involvement (on the U.S. release). Stylistically it did not fit the tone of the rest of the movie and it gave the impression of an entirely different vibe. If you can make it through that, you are golden for the next two hours.
Also, if you have a 6.1 or 7.1 speaker set up, the DTS-ES soundtrack will creep you out if you watch this late a night. You can literally hear the scratching through your walls and in the ceiling.
After watching this, I’m going to convince my brother to dress up his daughter in a Thomas costume for Halloween.
Unfortunately we seem to have traded the 7.1 DTS-ES soundtrack for the exclusive Q&A, but, as I said in the review, the soundtrack is still truly enveloping and atmospheric!
And Tomas, even though I didn’t really go into the character in the review (mainly for spoiler reasons) would be a great costume for Halloween!
Have you heard there is going to be the almost compulsory Hollywood remake? Apparently del Toro is involved again, but with a different director. Why? Why? WHY?? No need, this movie is pitch perfect and I cannot see a remake recapturing the feeling of this.
Remake? BOO!
Yeah, they’ll want RACHEL McADAMS - they’ll get LINDSAY LOHAN!
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