The Orphanage

I saw "The Orphanage" last night. I had wanted to see it for a while. It's from the same team that produced and directed "Pan's Labyrinth," for which I have a lot of respect. Anyway, it was advertised as a thriller/suspense, and I'm always up for a good scary movie. So last night I rented it from iTunes (great new feature from Apple lets you rent movies with iTunes instead of buying them) and watched it with a friend. It was really great. The whole suspense/scary story line wasn't as terrifying I was expecting. I remember Pan's Labyrinth was so bizarre that I trusted this one to be really terrifying. While it did have a few freaky jump scenes, the film packed much more of an emotional punch.

The story itself has many layers to it, which really adds to the credibility. Every little detail really comes into play. It was a lengthy film, but they really had a lot to cover, so the flow was pretty good.

Aesthetically, it's very beautiful. Every scene that took place on the beach and cave was absolutely beautiful. Lots of wide shots and long takes. Really a great picture.

Anybody that knows me knows that my favorite filmmaker is M. Night Shymalan. He's been my movie hero for years now, and parts of this film really reminded me of his work: 1-Good use of steady cam. Not confusing at all, very good depth and movement. Really slick cinematography. 2-The layers of the story. This was one of those scary movies that you watch and later say "that wasn't really about ghosts and horror at all."

I think the film says something about life, death, sickness, parenting, hope, so many other subjects. It uses the "scary movie formula" to put the audience on edge. At this point the audience is vulnerable and can be approached at a deeper level. This is where a good artist can inject something beautiful into the film and reach the viewer on a deep level. Even to achieve this level is impressive, but to leave something positive and uplifting is important as well. So the artist must not only be able to reach the viewer on a moral level, but he must also have something interesting to say.

My favorite part was the "1, 2, 3, knock on the wall" scene. This honestly felt exactly like a scene from Shymalan's "The 6th Sense." Simple photography, but the effect was chilling! The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and it felt so good. Excellent, excellent scene.

Anyway, this is definitely worth renting. No need to worry, it's not that scary. It's in Spanish, but if you refuse to watch a foreign flick because it's not your native language you're stupid.