{"id":2076,"date":"2008-07-22T23:00:51","date_gmt":"2008-07-22T22:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/?p=2076"},"modified":"2008-07-23T00:01:11","modified_gmt":"2008-07-22T23:01:11","slug":"dvd-pick-the-orphanage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/2008\/07\/22\/dvd-pick-the-orphanage\/","title":{"rendered":"DVD Pick: The Orphanage"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>One of the most accomplished films of the last twelve months was The Orphanage<\/strong><\/a>, an intelligent and highly effective supernatural thriller from Spain.
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\nI thought of describing it as a ‘horror’ film, but this is much closer in style on tone to Pan’s Labyrinth<\/a> or The Others<\/a> and a world away from the glut of remakes that have been clogging up multiplexes of late.
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\nThe story involves a woman named Laura (Bel\u00e9n Rueda<\/a>) who returns to the orphanage where she grew up and buys the property with the intention to turn it into a home for disabled children.<\/p>\n

Along with her husband (Fernando Cayo<\/a>) and son Sim\u00f3n (Roger Pr\u00edncep<\/a>) things seem to settle down well, but things take a darker turn when their young boy says he has an imaginary friend.<\/p>\n

To say much more about the plot would be to spoil a beautifully crafted script that not only satisfies connoisseurs of atmospheric ghost stories but also those in search of something more emotionally involving than the standard horror movie.<\/p>\n

It is a highly impressive directorial debut for Juan Antonio Bayona<\/a> and after premiering at the Cannes Film Festival<\/a> last year it went on to win considerable critical acclaim in limited release.<\/p>\n

Guillermo del Toro<\/a> helped bring it to the screen in his capacity as producer and the film bears some similarities to Pan’s Labyrinth with the exploration of parallel worlds and the importance of a child’s perspective on the cruelties of the adult world.<\/p>\n

If you didn’t manage to catch it at cinemas then the DVD is well worth catching up with, especially as Optimum Home Entertainment have done a fine job with a very tasty 2-disc package.<\/p>\n

Disc 1 includes:<\/p>\n