The Orphanage (El Orfanato)
In this spine tingling thriller directed by Juan Antonio Bayona you see a story involing the bond between a mother and a son, a son and his imaginary friends, and woman and her forgotten past. Set in Mexico, a woman named Laura, played by Belen Rueda and her husband played by Fernando Cayon move back into the orphanage when Laura grew up. In it she had 5 very good friends and their keeper, Benigna. When Benignas deformed son thomas is killed on accident by the other orphans, she in return, murders them. Luckily Laura got adopted before her friends early demise. But that didnt stop her being reminded of what happened every single day she was back in the orphage. Her son Simon played by Roger Princep has a personal connection with the dead children that only he understands. Simon desires to share his connection with his mother but of course since she is an adult she pays it no mind. But when Simon vanishes one day and stays missing for over a year, Laura must uncover the message that was trying to be revealed to her the entire time. This is an excellent movie that I would recommend for mature audiences. It is one of those films that will leave you guessing and has surprising twists that will leave you with several different emotions after you are done viewing. On a scale of 1-10 I would easily give this film a 9 and tell everyone I know who enjoys a good thriller movie to watch this one.
