Archive notice: This article was originally published on October 18, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The extraordinary suspense thriller by directorial debutant Juan Antonio Bayona was thus able to record the considerable box-office result of 5.9 million euros in its country of origin in less than one week of playing time. This is the best opening result for a Spanish film this year.
Laura (Belén Rueda) returns with her 8-year-old son Simon to the place where she grew up: an abandoned orphanage that she now wants to bring back to life. But she becomes uneasy when her son talks about invisible friends whom he should not know at all: Her old orphanage friends! When Simon suddenly disappears without a trace and does not return, Laura holds these ghosts responsible and sets off on the trail of three terrible tragedies: Two past ones and her own …
“The Orphanage” is not an ordinary thriller decorated with supernatural elements, but possesses the intensity and the element of surprise to captivate the viewer fully and completely, to shock and move him and thereby allow him to participate directly in Laura’s fate. Bayona’s cinema debut was produced by mystery specialist Guillermo del Toro (“Pan’s Labyrinth”, “Hellboy”, “Blade 2”). The Orphanage also opened the SITGES Film Festival in October 2007. The film celebrates its German premiere next week at the Hof Film Festival. The cinema release in Germany is February 14, 2008.