DVD...

Skin...

2001
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Written by: Guillermo del Toro, Antonio Trashorras
Produced by: Agustín Almodóvar... associate producer, Guillermo del Toro .... producer

Studio: Anhelo Producciones [Mexico]

Starring:
Eduardo Noriega .... Jacinto
Marisa Paredes .... Carmen
Federico Luppi .... Casares
Íñigo Garcés .... Jaime
Fernando Tielve .... Carlos
Irene Visedo .... Conchita
Berta Ojea .... Alma
Francisco Maestre .... El Puerco (as Paco Maestre)
José Manuel Lorenzo .... Marcelo
Junio Valverde .... Santi

This movie is just as much a serious drama as it is a horror film. It is a ghost story, but in the tradition of The Others it is scary in parts, and terribly sad in others.

The story is set in Spain during the Spanish civil war of the 1930's. An orphaned boy, Carlos (Fernando Tielve), is dropped off at an orphanage in the middle of nowhere. It is hot and dusty there, and the nearest town is almost a days walk away. The orphanage is somewhat like a compound with buildings and fences surrounding an open air square in the middle. In the center of this is a large bomb sticking out of the ground that had been dropped several years earlier. At around 8 feet high and bigger around than a man could reach, it kind of dominates the center square. The bomb had been diffused and poses no threat, and the kids play around it and the adults have gotten used to its presence. Carlos is of course fascinated by it.

Among the 8 or so boys there is a bully who picks on Carlos and wants the comic books that he brought with him to the orphanage. Carlos does not back down from much of anything and sticks up for himself whenever confronted. During one scene where Carlos has gotten in trouble along with an unknown accomplice, Carlos refuses to tell the doctor at the orphanage (played by Federico Luppi, who also starred in Guillermo del Toro's wonderful 1993 film, Cronos). The few adults at the orphanage are composed of Dr. Casares (Luppi), Carmen, the headmistress (Marisa Paredes), Jacinto, the handyman (Eduardo Noriega) and his girlfriend Conchita (Irene Visedo) and a maid/caretaker. There is an odd love story that is presented involving the 4 main adult characters. It is not your typical Hollywood type love story however, and does not take away from the rest of the movie.

A couple nights after Carlos arrives he sees "The one who sighs", a ghost of a young boy about Carlos age. Some there deny that he exists and others confirm that they have heard him. Carlos seeks him out and quickly finds him but once confronted by his ghostly image finally becomes frightened.

While all this is going on there is a terrible battle being fought in the land and early on in the movie we find out that the Dr. and headmistress are sympathetic to the rebel cause (not the winning side) and have been storing several bars of gold for the rebels. Dr. Casares drove into town with Conchita to sell some rum that he produces at the orphanage (a very unforgettable scene when the Dr. describes to Carlos the rum he distills, and then sells to the townfolk). He sees a compadre who has been lined up against a wall outside and shot as a rebel. Dr. Casares huries back to the orphanage as he is afraid that his compadre might have told the Nationalists about the gold and their leftist, rebel leanings. I won't tell any more about what happens as I don't like spoiling the movie in my reviews, but I will say that while there were some surprises along the way (both pleasant and unpleasant), I did see the ending coming about halfway through the film. But It did not really take away anything as I was watching because of the excellent acting and cinematography.

I found this to be a first rate thriller, easily as good as the much more ballyhooed (and profitable) The Others, also released in 2001. Once again Guillermo del Toro has made a great movie with characters that you get to know very deeply and who gain your sympathy. Del Toro has also helmed the much more typical Hollywood fare, Mimic and Blade II. While I haven't yet seen Blade II, Mimic was at least a little more interesting than your average creature movie. But in small, low budget films such as Devils Backbone and Cronos, del Toro has found a niche that I hope he continues to be involved in.

The 1.85:1 picture on the dvd is great. A lot of the movie was filmed in darkish rooms and at night and everything was very crisp. Same with the Dolby Digital 5.1 sound: It sounds great. The film is in Spanish with English subtitles that were very easy to read. There is a making of feature that was pretty standard (i.e. nformative and entertaining), and a commentary by del Toro and cinematographer Guillermo Navarro. They mention that it is the first time that they have ever done a commentary and it kind of shows. It is informative, but fairly dry. I did not buy the dvd but rented it from Netflix.com. It is a great movie and I wouldn't mind owning it, but it is not at the top of my list. Maybe if it gets discounted to under $15 I would consider buying it.

For more information go to: http://www.sonyclassics.com/devilsbackbone/


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