An exciting directorial debut

Rating: 9/10 (4 April 2008)

18 months back, or so, the world was astonished as three Mexican directors produced three exceptional and successful films. One of those three, Alfonso Cuáron, said in an interview last year that the trio (himself, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu & Guillermo del Toro) considered themselves to be nothing in comparison to "what is to come".
With "The Orphanage", executive produced by del Toro, we get to see some work from the first of the new Hispanic wave, namely the Spaniard Juan Antonio Bayona. Although del Toro's name is plastered all over the posters, this is undeniably Bayona's film who, with stylish photography, effective design and confident direction, makes this a fantastically gripping and moving piece of work.
It is a staggeringly bold and extremely exciting feature debut by this director. From the very first shot, the audience can see that this director has style and an eye for striking images. But he also knows how to manipulate an audience. The early scenes grip the audience as Bayona builds up a tense atmosphere, filled with the sort of menace that Hitchcock created in so many films.
Then, when the supernatural plot gets going, he fills the film with enough memorable visual touches and "crash, bang, wallop" moments to keep you on the edge of your seat. A number of scenes excel, especially one where a medium is used in the eponymous orphanage and wanders the apparently empty corridors, viewed in the eerie green of night vision. It is a magnificent, thrilling scene and, although it sounds clichéd, it is fresh, inventive and spine-chilling.
But this film is so much more than a nuts and bolts ghost story. The film ends with a wonderful, moving twist that is at once heart-breaking and utterly uplifting. This is an engrossing and thrilling film and a triumph of superior direction but it is the film's intelligent and philosophical side that stays with you, long after your spine has stopped tingling.