El Orfanato (The Orphanage)
2007
*****
Director: J.A. Bayona
Cast: Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Príncep, Geraldine Chaplin, Mabel Rivera, Edgar Vivar, Montserrat Carulla
A mesmerising ghost story about a family who move into a former orphanage where the mother grew up herself. When her son claims to have made new imaginary friends and then disappears without a trace, she's determined to find out what happened. The screenplay by Sergio G. Sánchez is a meticulously crafted mystery (which may remind you of films like The Sixth Sense or The Others) which J.A. Bayona has directed with style and attention to detail. The resulting film is extremely powerful.
