Computer Age

The Orphanage (2007)

Director: Juan Antonio Bayona
Cast: Belen Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Princep, Montserrat Carulla, Andres Gertrúdix

If a few years ago somebody had said that, one day, I go eight months without stepping on a movie theater, I surely would have seemed unbelievable. And the fact is that there was a time in which the person who wrote this was perfectly capable of, at times, and even see three more films in the cinema a week in office. But here we are, and it turns out that since the last time they stepped on a movie theater (to see Zodiac) so far to see the orphanage have spent nearly nine months!.

¿Why this?. Well, several. Aside from the viewpoint of people who, like me, asserts that we live the last breath of the cinema at least as we have known up to now, one reason is undoubtedly the expensive ticket prices. Never in life have imagined that two people would have to pay almost 14 euros to enter a theater, and on top without the guarantee of seeing a good movie to change (and without the additional expenditure on popcorn and drinks, of course). It was only ten or twelve years, which is not much time, my parents gave me exactly half of that money every weekend: 1100 Pelas of the time. It was not exactly a paste, and even then it was possible to spend the afternoon - evening watching a movie premiere of the film, and then spend the money left over Pill "the dotted" with colleagues based ministry of cheap beer and kalimotxo of tetra -brick.

In this way, nobody should be surprised that my girlfriend that I had pushed lately to see films on the big screen. Were it not for her, it is certain that there would not be seen or half of the movies I've seen in the last two years (not many, certainly), including this before us today.

The orphanage is the typical movie every year as responsible for the distressing disguise records quantitative and qualitative film "apan." But we must not be misled: in a production of this category, with a lot of money at stake, the advertising campaigns made "to degüello" to put obstacles in the seats at all costs, play an important role in the outcome of the box office. And that a movie is a success does not necessarily mean that it is a wonder. This is the case with The Orphanage, but everything depends on the point of view with which the film is prosecuted.

Because fortunately this is not Alatriste, where you look where you look, the result is a shit the size of the Burj Dubai. Seen as mere entertainment, with the clear intention of leaving the brain to one side of the chair, The Orphanage's tasks, but without boasting. The problem comes when we try to prosecute as a movie with all the letters. Then the fragile house of cards is falling estrepitosamente, leaving afloat all the gaps in a tape that looks like the Frankenstein monster, built at the base of pieces of other films pasted here and there, and loaded with topicazos, some absurd dialogue and scenes filmed so unfortunate (the race hit the beach by Belen Rueda is a clear example). Are not needed or five minutes of footage to have the feeling that you are watching The other II, but neither goes far to find scratch "references" to many other films of the horror genre as Poltergeist, The Glow or House, a house hallucinating (of which plagiarism absolute brazenness with the thrust of the argument).

In short, and as we said before, have fun with The Orphanage depends greatly on the color of the glass to look at it. Track of aseptically but without any master, fairly routine, it just entertains and has some good moments, although neither really bright. But as the film does not stand up to serious analysis minimally, except for the sound interpretation of Belen Rueda. The impression is that 6.90 per entry deserves a more in return. Clearly, as things stand, neither can be ordered pears to elm.