Steve’s Selections #10 – The Orphanage (2007)

We have come to the tenth of twelve movie selections Steve Honeywell at 1001plus has made for me.  This one is The Orphanage, one of two horror films he included.  Over the years we have known each other it has been clear that Steve likes the horror genre quite a bit more than I do.  I was a little worried about having not one, but two horror films among the twelve he picked.  However, Steve also knows that I prefer suspense over gore and story over cheap scares, so he did a good job with the first one I watched – The Changeling (1980) – and as it turns out, an even better job with The Orphanage.  This is much more than “just a horror movie.”  It has a great story with a central mystery, but also has a lot of compassion for the characters in it. 

Movie – The Skin I Live In (2011)

The Skin I Live In is a very interesting film from Pedro Almodovar.  It’s sure to surprise many, upset some, and maybe even traumatize a few.  It was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Golden Globe and won the BAFTA for Best Film Not in the English Language, beating, among others, A Separation (2011).  It was nominated for 16 Goyas (the “Spanish Oscar”), winning four of them.  It’s a film that may challenge you with the moral and ethical questions it raises, but it is definitely worth your time.

Movie – Belle Epoque (1992)

Belle Epoque is one of the few comedies to ever receive an Oscar in any of the Best Picture categories.  In this case it was the 1993 Best Foreign Language Film winner.  It also won nine Goyas (the “Spanish Oscar”), including Best Picture, in its own country.  It is the first film in which I ever saw Penelope Cruz.  She was about 18 when it was shot.  It’s also the first time I ever saw Maribel Verdu and Ariadna Gil, too, but they are not as well known in the U.S. despite the fact that both were in Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) – Verdu as the housekeeper and Gil as the mother.

Movie – Timecrimes (2007)

Of the four Time Travel on a Budget movies I’ve recommended so far, Timecrimes is the one that spent the most money – all of 2.6 million dollars.  It’s also the one that heads into the darkest territory so far, although an upcoming recommendation will match it.  Unlike Safety Not Guaranteed, Primer, and 11 Minutes Ago, Timecrimes is not a movie shown from the perspective of the people who are inventing time travel devices.  Instead, it focuses on a regular man who accidentally gets caught up in a time loop that he may never find his way out of, at least not as the same man he was before he started.  It would be fair to say that this movie has some gothic horror elements to it.

Movie – Volver (2006)

Anyone who has seen one of writer/director Pedro Almodovar’s films (i.e. The Skin I Live In, All About My Mother) knows that pretty much anything can happen in them…except a completely “normal” story.  Of all of his movies that I have seen Volver may be the most mainstream.  It still has the Almodovar touch, though.  It’s a heartwarming tale of the bonds among mothers, daughters, and sisters…and how easy it is to kill someone and get away with it.