"Like an insect trapped in Amber."
3.5 Stars
3.5 Stars
I have about 120 movies in my Netflix queue, so sometimes I am surprised to see which movies I get. I got this one and was pleasantly surprised to see it was directed by Guillermo de Toro.
The same director of Pan's Labrynth. This film was made pre-Pan, and it did have a lot of similarities, which I'll tell you about later.
Twelve-year-old Carlos is the latest arrival at Santa Lucia School, an imprisoning stone building that shelters orphans of the Republican militia and politicians during the last days of the Spanish Civil War. Carlos gradually uncovers the dark ties that bind the inhabitants of the school; hidden riches, sexual intrigue and the restless ghost of a murdered student, who may be the only one to provide resolution.
Co-starring is Marisa Paredes a well known actress in Spanish cinema. She plays the one legged school mistress who is having an affair with the younger caretaker. She does a great job. One of her best performances is in All About My Mother, check it out. Love her.
The special effects were quite cool too. The ghost of Santi isn't the hazy spooky ghost character. He looks like he's underwater with a floating trail of blood descending from his head. His face is cracked like a porcelain doll, and he's kind of transparent. You can see his bones through his skin. Cool lookin'.
In Pan there was a child character much like this one, who loved fairy tales. They both are confined to one building, and missing a war hero father. Both set in 1920s. Both have some mystical figure, and show little fear of it. All of this bothered me at first, but once I got passed it, I was able to enjoy the movie.
The next project del Toro is doing is Hellboy II. He did the first one, but I never saw it. Maybe I will. I defiantly want to see more of his films. Has great art direction, and has a talent for storytelling.
Plot summary courtesy of Netflix
The same director of Pan's Labrynth. This film was made pre-Pan, and it did have a lot of similarities, which I'll tell you about later.
Twelve-year-old Carlos is the latest arrival at Santa Lucia School, an imprisoning stone building that shelters orphans of the Republican militia and politicians during the last days of the Spanish Civil War. Carlos gradually uncovers the dark ties that bind the inhabitants of the school; hidden riches, sexual intrigue and the restless ghost of a murdered student, who may be the only one to provide resolution.
Co-starring is Marisa Paredes a well known actress in Spanish cinema. She plays the one legged school mistress who is having an affair with the younger caretaker. She does a great job. One of her best performances is in All About My Mother, check it out. Love her.
The special effects were quite cool too. The ghost of Santi isn't the hazy spooky ghost character. He looks like he's underwater with a floating trail of blood descending from his head. His face is cracked like a porcelain doll, and he's kind of transparent. You can see his bones through his skin. Cool lookin'.
In Pan there was a child character much like this one, who loved fairy tales. They both are confined to one building, and missing a war hero father. Both set in 1920s. Both have some mystical figure, and show little fear of it. All of this bothered me at first, but once I got passed it, I was able to enjoy the movie.
The next project del Toro is doing is Hellboy II. He did the first one, but I never saw it. Maybe I will. I defiantly want to see more of his films. Has great art direction, and has a talent for storytelling.
Plot summary courtesy of Netflix
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