The Devil's Backbone (2001)

Who payed the critics

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Good acting and great visuals highlight this interesting yet bit of a slow moving film about a group of orphans. The film deals with different issues, from greed to revenge, and also has a few great action sequences, and some truly scary moments. Being only his third film as director, the film already carries Guillermo's stunning visual trademark. The child actors were very good.

'The Devil's Backbone' is a film co-written and directed by the critically acclaimed Mexican director Guillermo del Toro. It is set in Civil War era Spain. The film starts when a young boy named Carlos after losing his father arrives at Santa Lucia School which was being secretively used as a shelter for the orphans of Republican soldiers and politicians. There he comes across new characters like the strict headmistress Carmen, the generous professor Dr. Casares and the hot- headed caretaker Jacinto. He also meets the other orphans, one of whom named Jaime seemed to be a bully. Along with the people, Carlos also starts to sense some supernatural presence in the school.Del Toro is one of those directors whose work can justifiably be called the work of an auteur. Whenever you come across a film made by him, you can clearly see his stamp on it. 'The Devil's Backbone' has all the Del Toro-esque elements that one expects from his films. It has his signature visual flair. The cinematography by Guillermo Navarro and the general look of the film is astonishing. The rich and vibrant colours that ornament almost every scene is impossible to not get bowled over by. Not only the special effects, but also the scenes on location in natural surroundings get enriched by Del Toro's vibrant style and look beautiful. In a way this can be called a precursor to 'Pan's Labyrinth'. Like 'Labyrinth', this film is also at the basic level a fairy tale which doesn't necessarily follow the conventional rules followed by fairy tales in general. There is some graphic violence, there is blood, there are disturbing visuals. But still, the innocence of the young characters in the film shine through.Other than the visual style and the cinematography, another admirable aspect of the film is the ambitious nature of the screenplay. The whole setting of the script is meant to serve as an allegory for the Spanish Civil War as well as what caused it. The Santa Lucia School is meant to represent Spain itself during the ongoing Civil War. Headmistress Carmen and Dr. Cesares represent the older generation who remained naive and oblivious to the intentions of the dictatorial factions and allowed them to invade the country. The ghost represents the spirit, the emotions and the memories of Spain during happier pre-Civil War days. The adults in the school premises refuse to acknowledge its presence, but the young newcomer Carlos senses the same. Jacinto in a way represents the power hungry General Franco. The underlying theme of the film is of hope and optimism. Del Toro shows the new generation with the guidance of the elders has the capacity to usher in an era of peace by defeating the perpetrators of violence, which makes the film's theme universal and timeless.But for me, although the film has great positives, it still contains some flaws primarily in terms of the script and the character development. Although the screenplay works well as a thematic allegory for the Civil War and has the Guillermo-esque Gothic creepiness, I think when it comes to writing of the characters, it is a bit weak. I found myself astonished by how extreme the writing regarding the character of Jacinto was. Although he is supposed to represent Franco and his vicious acts are supposed to mirror those of Franco's, but in the context of the film itself, it felt rushed and underdeveloped. Considering the background and the circumstances, I found it difficult to believe that Jacinto would do the things that he is made to do in the screenplay.The acting is good from everyone. A special mention should be given to Federico Luppi who plays Dr. Cesares. In a nutshell, the film is certainly worth watching due to Del Toro's artistic vision and visual flair. The thematic backdrop and allegory of the screenplay is also admirable. But the film fails to make the transition from good to great due to the problematic, rushed and underdeveloped nature of character development.

The Spanish Civil War is coming to an end and Carlos is placed in an orphanage after his father died in battle fighting for the Republicans.Carlos finds it difficult to feel comfortable in his new home, partly due to unpleasant characters within the orphanage and his new school but also because of the presence of a ghost known as Santi. A ghost haunts the inhabitants, bringing chaos and seeking revenge on its killer.Great cinematography and good plot but the storyline is poorly told by the film. It is difficult to care about or believe in any of the characters and some of the events don't fit smoothly into the overall narrative.

The Devil's Backbone only relies on one thing, it's tremendously well written story. To make a film though with that one quality is extremely difficult and there is just a few people out there that can pull it off, Guillermo Del Torro is one of them. There are really no scare scenes, high profile actors or even special effects. The only horror element it really has is a little ghost boy that appears periodically throughout the movie. What it lacks in is what makes the movie great because it makes the film realistic and sucks the viewer into its setting. There are so many moving components to the movie, it's something that the viewer has to really pay attention to or watch several times. It seemed I was always wondering how certain aspects of the film were going to pop back in. Del Torro with this movie proves he is a horror film-making genius and it should be on the top of everyone's top foreign horror lists.