The Devil's Backbone
Guillermo del Toro, who quickly became one of the most talked-about directors in contemporary horror films with his first two features, Chronos and Mimic, takes on a more subtle tale of terror with this psychological suspense piece. Casares (Federico Luppi) and Carmen (Marisa Paredes) operate a small home for orphans in a remote part of Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Helping the couple mind the orphanage are Jacinto (Eduardo Noriega), the groundskeeper, and Conchita (Irene Visedo), a teacher who is also involved with Jacinto. Casares and Carmen are aligned with the Republican loyalists, and are hiding a large cache of gold that's used to back the Republican treasury; perhaps not coincidentally, the orphanage has also been subject to attacks from Franco's troops, and an unexploded bomb waits to be defused in the home's courtyard. One day, a boy named Carlos (Fernando Tielve) arrives at the home, looking for a place to stay after being left behind by his parents. Casares and Carmen take him in, and the boy soon strikes up an unlikely friendship with Jaime (Inigo Garces), a boy with a reputation for tormenting other kids. But Carlos soon begins having visions of a mysterious apparition he can't identify, and hears strange stories about a child named Santi who went missing the day the bomb appeared near the orphanage. more..
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Eduardo Noriega, Marisa Paredes, Fernando Tielve,Federico Luppi, Inigo Garces
del Toro builds excitement, dread, and melodrama in equal layers.
It's a horror flick, and a creepily good one, that also functions as an allegory of the war that still haunts Spain seven decades later.
The Devil's Backbone has been compared to "The Others," and has the same ambition and intelligence, but is more compelling and even convincing.
The film doesn't explore the nature of ghosts, as it promises to initially, but it's fun to watch Del Toro confront death and fear with such energy and humor.
A seductively corrosive horror story that also potently suggests the ways war can shatter childhood.
Outstanding Foreign Film
ALMA Awards (2002)
Best Horror Film
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (2002)
Guillermo del Toro
Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival (2002)
Guillermo del Toro
Cinénygma - Luxembourg International Film Festival (2003)
Best Movie Actor (Mejor Actor de Cine)
Fotogramas de Plata (2002)
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