The Devil's Backbone
by Guillermo del Toro
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Actor: ??igo Garc?s, Eduardo Noriega, Federico Luppi, Fernando Tielve, Marisa ParedesDirector: Guillermo del Toro
Producer: Guillermo del Toro
Writer: Guillermo del Toro
Producer: Agust?n Almod?var
Producer: Bertha Navarro
Producer: Michel Ruben
Writer: Antonio Trashorras
Writer: David Mu?oz
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Subtitled); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: Color, NTSC, Subtitled
Running Time: 106 minutes
Release Date: 2002-06-25
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Publisher: Sony Pictures
Studio: Sony Pictures
VHS Movie Reviews of The Devil's Backbone
Movie Review: An insect trapped in amber
Summary: 5 Stars
Guillermo del Toro is currently known as the guy who made the Oscar-winning "Pan's Labyrinth," the "Hellboy" movies, and is going to direct "The Hobbit."
But way back in in 2001, del Toro made a movie that serves as a sport of ghost-story prequel to "Pan's Labyrinth." With its mysterious specter, innocent hero and a story set during a bloody civil war, "The Devil's Backbone" is a unique kind of horror movie -- it deftly sidesteps the cheap tricks and scares that most ghost stories employ.
Unaware that his father has been killed, Carlos (Fernando Tielve) thinks that he's being left at a remote orphanage only temporarily.
Kindly Dr. Casares (Federico Luppi) sympathizes with the lonely new boy, but Carlos soon is distracted from his troubles. He keeps seeing shadows, footprints and falling pitchers -- and when he wanders down into the vaulted cellar, he catches a glimpse of a silent ghost with a bleeding head wound. Even worse, the ghost -- which was a boy named Santi -- informs him that many people there will die.
But the most dangerous one at the orphanage is the brutal former-orphan Jacinto (Eduardo Noriega), who is searching for a cache of hidden gold. As Carlos tries to figure out how Santi died -- and what angry, miserable Jaime (??igo Garc?s) has to do with it -- the orphanage is suddenly turned into an explosive war zone. As Dr. Casares tries to protect the remaining boys, Carlos discovers the reason Santi died -- and what he wants now.
"The Devil's Backbone" is a movie filled with death: the orphanage is a dying institution in a time of war, filled with orphans and surrounded by sun-burnt grass. It even has a defused torpedo stuck right in the middle of the courtyard. By the time the ghost shows up, it seems like almost a natural part of such a ruined, quietly sorrowful place.
Fortunately Guillermo del Toro avoids cheap scares -- the ghost doesn't make weird noises or leap out at Carlos for no reason. Instead he evokes the fear of a child in a dark, creaky old house who is ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that there's something out there. Also some beautifully creepy visuals, such as blood floating in the air as if it were in water.
But the whole creepy-ghostly-factor is eclipsed about halfway through the movie. After a slow buildup of tension, everything suddenly erupts when Jacinto suddenly reveals his true self. Suddenly we've got explosions, blood, shattered glass, mangled bodies and an all-too human enemy who is slowly closing in. It makes the ghostly Santi seem suddenly very... nonthreatening.
And though the plot seems simple, del Toro spins a spiderweb of interconnected hints and plot threads -- comic books, slug collections, a wooden leg and blood-tinged water all come into play. There's loads of symbolism, and the beautiful scenes (Dr. Casares' final poetry recital to Carmen) are handled just as powerfully as the more gory, ghastly ones (the orphans' final assault).
It's kind of amazing that this was Tielve's movie debut, because he's simply incredible -- his character slides through fear, courage, sorrow and confusion, all with a kind of unshakable innocence. Garc?s is equally good; at first he seems like a mere bully, but we gradually see how troubled and guilty he feels over what happened to Santi. Noriega is thoroughly nasty as a greedy, sociopathic thug who cares about nobody except himself (even his fiancee), while Luppi is a kindly, cultured old man who obviously loves the boys as if they were his own.
"The Devil's Backbone" is a haunting kind of ghost story, where the ghost is not the scariest thing you'll see. A powerful, striking movie.
Movie Review: Devil's Backbone
Summary: 5 Stars
Guillermo del Toro does a great job of telling a unique story through different mediums. All around an entertaining piece of work.Movie Review: The Spanish Civil War Told in the Form of a Horror Picture
Summary: 5 Stars
I've seen Hellboy II and was disappointed in the basic emptiness of it. Guess it was because I've seen Pan's Labyrinth and expected a deeper story. This movie has it. The ghost story has a boy who has been murdered who wants revenge, but also has a story of people fighting against fascism who would like justice for all the wrongs done them. Very good story and the unexploded bomb says a lot about the life these poor people live. Movie Review: "An Insect Trapped In Amber"
Summary: 4 Stars
THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE is a well made Spanish language film with adequate English subtitles to tell this ghost/historical/war film to an American audience. The setting of the movie is a remote desert orphanage (totally unrelated to the setting of another Del Toro film titled THE ORPHANAGE) for boys during the Spanish Civil War. The acting is excellent all around with special kudos going to the child actors especially the young men playing Carlos and Jaime. And the film has one of the hunkiest villains ever in Eduardo Noriega II in the role of Jacinto. The movie is filled with atmosphere, gothic images and symbolism some of which are neatly tied in to the plot line and some of which are left dangling. This movie may not be as jump out of your seat scary as Del Toro's ghost story THE ORPHANAGE but overall THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE is the better film of the two. Movie Review: Del Toro, the Spanish Civil War and Me; 3 Things That Should Never Come Together
Summary: 4 Stars
I once wrote an angry review for "Pan's Labyrinth". If you've read it you probably tacked a "NO" vote up there; that's cool. I got a little riled by Del Toro's uneven depiction of history and the fact that history had anything to do with a "fantasy" film. I gave it 3 stars because, besides the slanted history and despite its artistic qualities, I took great issue with the nebulous point of the story, proven by the common misinterpretations of its "deeper" meaning in the glowing amazon.com reviews. Of course, I was out of my depth to think such things. So, you think I would have learned my lesson? No, I buy another Del Toro film staged in the Spanish Civil War; $5 or not, what was I thinking?!
Now you might wonder; "Why did you give this film 4 stars and the other, more revered film only 3 stars?" and that would be a fair question. The answer is simple; I knew what to expect. "Pan's Labyrinth" was marketed as a fantasy film but that was not what I got. "Devils Backbone" was marketed as a ghost story. However, I had the sense to read up on it and realize this was just deceptive American marketing. I had learned my lesson... ...sort of.
-WE STUPID AMERICANS
We must all be idiots since Del Toro's films are much too deep for us to understand here in America. The distributors "understand" this. So, when they package these DVD's they feel compelled to compare the films to something we can identify with like "The Others" or "Lord of the Rings"; just ridiculous. Of course, neither of those two films remotely resembles the two Del Toro films they were compared to. This film is nothing like "The Others" and, luckily, I did not expect it to be. I do enjoy that story more though.
-WHAT DO I HAVE AGAINST DEL TORO?
In a nutshell; I don't like his stories. I like his skill as a Director. I think he makes some of the more visually stunning films of the day. The guy is dripping with style. But, I don't like his stories. If he never did anything but direct other people's stories, I'd be happy to watch. However, his stories just bug me. It bugs me that he can't show war without taking sides. It bugs me that his stories pretentiously try to be "deep" and ambiguous to the point that even those who love them don't truly understand them. I recently viewed Fritz Lang's "M". In an interview, Lang said "I hate giving interviews... ...because if a director has to explain his film then he hasn't done his job". I could not agree more. Good stories practically tell themselves. Does the meaning need to be deciphered? I have ideas about "The Devils Backbone" but Lord knows if I'm right. There may be nothing to interpret at all. So, I just look at it as a story about an orphanage in the middle of the desert with a tormented ghost and ruined people lurking about. It's not bad at being that.
-THESE KIDS CAN ACT
Despite my bellyaching, there were things that I liked about this film. Being set in an old orphanage, there needs to be kids. Well this is a boy's orphanage and can these boys act. You need to give the director credit here. They're a bunch full of character and are easy to care about. All the actors did pretty well and their characters were fairly well developed. However, I have to say the heavy in the film was a bit extreme. I wasn't surprised by this since the villain in "Pan's Labyrinth" was also nearly unimaginable in his cruelty.
-NOT A HORROR FILM
This is not news to anyone who's read a review for this before, but I thought I should make sure you knew. There is brutal violence, a bloody ghost, and evil people but this is much less a horror film than "Pan's Labyrinth" is. The most horrific thing about this film is the constant depiction of highly flawed people. Even the "Heroes" have ugly sides. This is actually a pretty depressing film now that I think about it.
-THE FINAL JUDGMENT
I liked the acting and the characters. I thought it was visually excellent. I thought the story was ok until it got to the point. It was "the point" that was either heavy handed or too subtle; I admit I'm not sure which. I might be looking for something that's not even there. Either way, it was the details that made it interesting and not the overall "message". Of course, history being one of my interests, the slanted depiction of the Spanish Civil War gave me heartburn as well. However, it did everything else so well that I have to give it 4 stars even if I did not like the story.
-Acting.....4.5 Stars
-Visuals....5.0 Stars
-Story......2.5 Stars Average...4 Stars
Summary of The Devil's Backbone
Seething passions, wandering ghosts, and an unexploded bomb fill this beautifully filmed tale of war and suspense. Though The Devil's Backbone was advertised as a horror movie in the States, it's really more of a drama that happens to have ghosts in it. During the Spanish Civil War, young Carlos is abandoned at a completely isolated orphanage. The tensions therein have been building for years, exacerbated by the unexploded bomb resting menacingly in the courtyard. Bullies scheme, tempers flare, and a ghost that visits Carlos's bed seems to be the key to it all. The movie is full of excellent performances, especially by Marisa Paredes as the gruff-but-kind headmistress, Eduardo Noriega as the handyman with secrets to keep, and Federico Luppi as the benevolent professor who likes to keep deformed fetuses in jars. A rich, satisfying drama with some good, spooky fun thrown in. --Ali DavisPeriod Piece Video
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