The Orphanage

The Orphanage by Juan Antonio Bayona (2007)

Laura buys the old orphanage where she grew up, intending to turn it into a home for children with disabilities.

Quote.

One, two, three… touch the wall.

Simón’s Friends.

Simón has six friends, but only he can see them. They are invisible playmates to his adoptive parents. Sometimes, one of them stays outside when evening comes, and Laura finds herself having to open the bedroom window to let him back in. After all, these are normal things. It can happen to get lost while playing hide and seek or to be late while searching for hidden treasure and having to decipher all the clues.
But Simón has a serious illness, a disease that risks preventing him from growing up and causing him to die young.
For this reason, he imagines spending eternity with his friends, suspended in a sort of limbo that will prevent him from reaching adulthood.
Then there is Tomás, Simón’s new imaginary friend. The one who wears a mask and stays in a cave by the sea, far from home. This is why Simón is leaving stones on the path: he wants to show him the way so that he can reach him and join him and the others.

Considerations.

J.A. Bayona makes his debut with this ghost story, following the solid screenplay by Sergio Sanchez. He eschews the rivers of blood and pre-packaged scares typical of the genre. His approach is more relaxed and poetic. He speaks of a world, that of childhood, where we have ghost children condemned to spend eternity playing “1,2,3, star.”
Like an hallucinatory and horrific version of Neverland, where Peter Pan wears a burlap sack on his head and hides a terrible secret.
In contrast, there is another type of reality, that of adults. Grown-up children, unable to see or hear, so lost in their affairs that they become culpable, even if unwittingly.
However, The Orphanage does have its scary moments, such as the scene featuring the medium played by Geraldine Chaplin.
But, in general, the ghosts in this film are represented more as victims of events that led them to death (which are indeed frightening) rather than as vengeful beings. It also includes a comforting, almost touching ending.
The actress who plays the main protagonist, Belén Rueda, is truly excellent at conveying all the contrasting emotions experienced by her character.
The Orphanage features simple yet incredibly effective sets and a cinematography that skillfully plays with shadows and contributes to the story’s mysterious atmosphere.
In summary, The Orphanage stands as a delightful dark fairy tale with a plot that is far from predictable. It remains, to this day, one of the most original and noteworthy films within this particular genre. And an astonishing debut that cannot leave one indifferent.
Produced by Guillermo Del Toro.