This Friday and Saturday at Radio City Music Hall, “The Fellowship of the Ring” will be projected onto a 60-foot screen while a 300-piece orchestra plays the film’s score. For some people (namely, those who enjoy awesome things) this is a concept that needs no justification. God could have come up with the idea. -NYU

On October 9th, I attended the first of two Lord of the Rings concerts at Radio City Music Hall. Unlike the Lord of the Rings Symphony, which had played in this area a few years ago, this live orchestra would play against the first film, The Fellowship of the Ring. Before the show, I lamented that this set-up would result in the audience missing out on some great pieces from films 2 and 3. On the other hand, I was glad to revisit a film that I had not seen on the big screen since its debut almost a decade ago. I was kind of taken aback by the thought that children in the audience (and the choir) were too young, or not yet born, when the movie first came out.

When we got there, we were glad to see that neither of the scheduled guests (Howard Shore and Billy Boyd) had pulled out. On the contrary, there would be a signing after the show with Mr. Shore himself. There was a beautiful program on display, which I bought, as well as various CDs of music from the trilogy, which I already owned. I was on the look-out for Doug Adams’s upcoming book The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films, but it has not been made available at this time. I did talk to Adams after the show, and he told me that they are looking at an April release date. We were also happy to see that several people dressed up, and there were Gandalfs, Eowyns and various other characters walking around.

Once inside, we were awed by the size of the screen, wherein a large high definition version of the movie would be playing. The orchestra and choir were huge, which we knew would add great power to the instrumentation and vocals. As I glanced through the program, I saw an ad for a Two Towers concert, which would be playing in England, and quickly cursed the English for getting such a great show (The Two Towers is my favorite film in the trilogy, and ties with The Return of the King for my favorite music). As I debated how far I would go to purchase tickets to England to see this show, the lights went down and the film began to play. Luckily, there were subtitles, since the event was purposefully staged to emphasize the music playing live, which meant that several of the sounds and dialogue in the film would be somewhat minimized. I say the subtitles were useful, but in reality, people who play $100+ for tickets to an event like this are really enthusiastic fans, so we all knew every word of dialogue in the film already. That is what made the evening such a great one. There were no people who wandered into this hall by mistake, or without the full intention of enjoying the show. This was an audience of fans, and they all cheered at every character entrance, whether Aragorn’s or Galadriel’s. They clapped at the major musical cues, especially the Fellowship Theme at the conclusion of the Council of Elrond. They rejoiced when Aragorn defeated the Uruk-Hai that had attacked Boromir. At various points in the film, I was tempted to take photographs of the picture playing, because it was so large and beautiful, but I refrained from doing so out of courtesy to the people sitting around me. Nevertheless, there were those who couldn’t resist, and photos were flashing during grand shots like The Balrog, The Argonath, and the close-up of Frodo at the riverbank as he prepares to leave behind the Fellowship.

Musically, the event was nearly flawless. Take it from someone who knows every beat in the film, the orchestra was perfectly in synch with the movie playing onscreen. The live orchestra brought out some musical moments that I had not focused on enough before this evening: like when the Hobbits are chased by the Ringwraiths as they head towards Bree. This moment is so tense and action packed that it is easy to overlook the great music playing with it. The orchestra really made moments like this one stand out. It also enhanced moments that were great to begin with, and made them that much more spectacular, like the Fellowship theme that concludes the Council of Elrond and the Ring Theme that begins each film in the trilogy. Personally, my favorite musical moments in Fellowship are the tiny bit of the Nature Theme that can be heard peeking out of the Isengard music during Gandalf’s imprisonment there (when he talks to the moth). Another sequence that I adore is the music of Moria: the beautiful melody that plays when the heroes behold Dwarrowdelf for the first time, and the chants of the male choir that crescendo when Gandalf confronts the Balrog. It was great to hear these great moments in the score played live. My only complaint, in regards to the music, is the Fellowship Theme that plays when the Nine walk into the Misty Mountains through a pass, one at a time. This is supposed to be one of the loudest and most resounding versions of the Fellowship Theme to play in the entire trilogy, but I felt the orchestra played it kind of low. Other than that, I felt that the vocalists and musicians delivered at every turn.

The cut of the film that was screened was the theatrical release, which runs at three hours. There was an intermission, right at the point when the Fellowhip comes together in Rivendell. As the credits rolled, there were cheers for all the actors and talent involved, especially Boyd and Shore, who were in attendance. The orchestra and chorus also received great cheers, especially conductor Ludwig Wicki and soloist Kaitlyn Lusk. In fact, the orchestra received a standing ovation that lasted somwhere between five and ten minutes. The credits were followed by a title card announcing that Radio City would host The Two Towers next year on the 8th and 9th of October, which sent all fans into a frenzy. The evening concluded in the most perfect way possible when Shore and Boyd were joined onstage by Frodo himself, Elijah Wood. As EW noted, the great thing about the people who work(ed) on this trilogy is their obvious affection for it, and the special guests truly seemed to be enjoying themselves. The audience couldn’t have asked for a better evening, although the Saturday audience was treated to a Q&A with Howard Shore before the concert. This now ranks as my all-time favorite film-going experience, along with the 2003 premiere of The Return of the King.

From Gothamist:

On October 9th and 10th, more than 300 musicians will gather onstage at Radio City Musical to perform composer Howard Shore’s award-winning score to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring live to Peter Jackson’s film. The ensemble is as epic as the movie, and includes Switzerland’s 21st Century Symphony Orchestra, the internationally-acclaimed The Collegiate Chorale, the Grammy Award-winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and renowned soprano Kaitlyn Lusk, all under the direction of celebrated Maestro Ludwig Wicki.

Before the concert, NYC Ringers can look forward to an event at the Paley Center with composer Howard Shore, actor Billy Boyd (aka Peregrin Took), and Doug Adams, author of The Music of The Lord of the Rings Films. Details on the Paley Center event can be found on the website. If you’re a fan of the books, the films, or both, I highly recommend this event. I attended a LotR Symphony Concert a few years back at NJPAC (Howard Shore was there) and this music, gorgeous though it sounds in the films, is designed to be heard in a grand venue, played by hundreds of musicians. I own all the soundtracks, and I listen to them regularly, but nothing is better than hearing them live, in their full majesty. The difference between the upcoming concert and the one I saw is that the first film is being screened at Radio City, with the orchestra playing to it. I know it will be grand to see the film this way, especially since I haven’t seen it on the big screen since 2001, but I do feel that the audience will be missing out on some great, great pieces from the other two films.

The Two Towers:

Foundations of Stone- the music the plays over the opening sequence of the film, when Galdalf battles the Balrog as they fall through the caves of Khazad-dûm.

The Riders of Rohan- this is the introductory theme of the Rohirrim, which plays in various ways throughout the TTT and RotK.

The White Rider-this theme plays when Gandalf returns as Gandalf the White in Fangorn Forest.

Forth Eorlingas-after the long battle at Helm’s Deep (actually called The Battle of the Hornburg), this theme plays as the heroes lead the Rohirrim in a charge outside the walls, just as Galdalf and Éomer bring re-inforcements.

Isengard Unleashed- the Nature Theme first heard in Fellowship’s ‘A Knife in the Dark’ comes back here in full force as the Ents charge Isengard.

The Return of the King:

Minas Tirith- this theme was first played very briefly in Fellowship when Gandalf went to research the history of the Ring, but here it plays majestically as Gandalf take Pippin to the White City for the first time.

The White Tree- this theme plays when Pippin lights the beacons that signal to Théoden in Edoras that Minas Tirith requires aid, and the sequence plays over gorgeous imagery of the snow-capped mountain ranges of New Zealand.

To become even geekier for a moment, if Billy Boyd is going to be there, wouldn’t it be great to hear ‘Pippin’s Song’, aka ‘All Shall Fade/Edge of Night’?

The Black Gate Opens- though The Battle of the Pelennor Fields is the centerpiece of the film, the climax of the trilogy is happens in Mordor. This song links the heroes once more as the warriors congregate at the Black Gate while Frodo and Same climb Mount Doom, reprising a very poignant and moving version of the Shire Theme from Fellowship, before launching into the Wagnerian ‘The End of All Things’ inside the mountain itself.

Much like the books and the films, the music of Lord of the Rings tells one story; it’s designed very carefully to convey its own narrative over the course of the three films, which means that, unlike a straight-out concert, we’re going to hear (and see) only the first part of a story. On the concert website, there is a video of a similar screening/concert for The Two Towers. Couldn’t we get that, as well? Along with The Return of the King, it could be staged as a three night event. Perhaps that’s something that they intend to do at a later date. In the meantime, one Lord of the Rings screening is better than no screening at all.

From The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences:

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (Overture Films)
Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon” (Universal)
Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features)
Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Josh Brolin in “Milk” (Focus Features)
Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)
Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” (Universal)
Melissa Leo in “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Meryl Streep in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Amy Adams in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (The Weinstein Company)
Viola Davis in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE OF THE YEAR:
“Bolt” (Walt Disney), Chris Williams and Byron Howard
“Kung Fu Panda” (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount), John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION:
“Changeling” (Universal), Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando
“The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
“Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY:
“Changeling” (Universal), Tom Stern
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN:
“Australia” (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Jacqueline West
“The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O’Connor
“Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Glicker
“Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Albert Wolsky

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING:
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Ron Howard
“Milk” (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
“The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)” (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
“Encounters at the End of the World” (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment), A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
“The Garden” A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
“Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
“Trouble the Water” (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT:
“The Conscience of Nhem En” A Farallon Films Production, Steven Okazaki
“The Final Inch” A Vermilion Films Production, Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
“Smile Pinki” A Principe Production, Megan Mylan
“The Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306” A Rock Paper Scissors Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING:
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lee Smith
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
“Milk” (Focus Features), Elliot Graham
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR:
“The Baader Meinhof Complex” A Constantin Film Production, Germany
“The Class” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haut et Court Production, France
“Departures” (Regent Releasing), A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan
“Revanche” (Janus Films), A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria
“Waltz with Bashir” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP:
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan
“Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (Universal), Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (Original score):
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Alexandre Desplat
“Defiance” (Paramount Vantage), James Newton Howard
“Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Elfman
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (Original song):
“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
“Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
“O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR:
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
“Milk” (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Nominees to be determined
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production, Christian Colson, Producer

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM:
“La Maison en Petits Cubes” A Robot Communications Production, Kunio Kato
“Lavatory – Lovestory” A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company Production, Konstantin Bronzit
“Oktapodi” (Talantis Films), A Gobelins, L’école de l’image Production, Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
“Presto” (Walt Disney), A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug Sweetland
“This Way Up” A Nexus Production, Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM:
“Auf der Strecke (On the Line)” (Hamburg Shortfilmagency), An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production, Reto Caffi
“Manon on the Asphalt” (La Luna Productions), A La Luna Production, Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
“New Boy” (Network Ireland Television), A Zanzibar Films Production, Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
“The Pig” An M & M Production, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh
“Spielzeugland (Toyland)” A Mephisto Film Production, Jochen Alexander Freydank

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING:
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Richard King
“Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Tom Sayers
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
“Wanted” (Universal), Wylie Stateman

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING:
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
“Wanted” (Universal), Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS:
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
“Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
“Doubt” (Miramax), Written by John Patrick Shanley
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Screenplay by Peter Morgan
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Hare
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
“Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Courtney Hunt
“Happy-Go-Lucky” (Miramax), Written by Mike Leigh
“In Bruges” (Focus Features), Written by Martin McDonagh
“Milk” (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

Based on John Ajvide Lindqvist’s novel, director Tomas Alfredson’s adaptation of Låt den rätte komma in is a dark tale of a boy’s fascination with and attraction to his neighbor, a young female vampire named Eli. Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant), the son of divorced parents, feels alienated from the world around him. He is bullied in school, where his classmates take delight in torturing him both mentally and physically. He doesn’t feel closeness to any of the adults in his life, who seem too preoccupied with their own problems to see that Oskar is in need of psychological and emotional support. The boy spends his evenings consumed in rage and picturing scenarios of retribution against his tormentors. One such evening, he meets his neighbor Eli (Lina Leandersson), the quiet girl from the next apartment, who never goes to school or plays with the other kids. In fact, she’s rarely seen by anyone in the neighborhood. Oskar responds to her confidence and fearlessness, qualities that he lacks, but most of all, he responds to her attention, since no one else (other than the school bullies) takes notice of him. Eli, for her part, recognizes in Oskar a kindred spirit, isolated and lonely. She lives with a man whom she calls her father, a man who goes out at night in search of victims to desanguinate for Eli’s nourishment. Eli keeps her true nature a secret from Oskar, afraid of losing her only friend, but the mysterious attacks and deaths around the town have begun to stir unrest in the locals.

Shot with a quiet easygoing patience, Let the Right One In is the type of film that prefers to build momentum slowly rather than assault the senses. The beautiful, snow-covered landscapes make for an icy setting for the film’s narrative, adding to the feeling of alienation surrounding the Oskar character. The ice also highlights the sense of preserved death that surrounds Eli; the cold is in her and around her, hiding her victims, yet preserving them. She is cold and dead, and she is drawn to the vibrancy of Oskar. It is a welcome change from other vampire fiction that this film is graphic in portraying what it means for Eli to be a vampire. Unlike Anne Rice’s antiheroes (and their numerous literary/cinematic descendants), who feed on the evildoer, Eli feeds indiscriminately, from whomever crosses her path when she’s hungry. Furthermore, when she feeds, it isn’t dainty or romanticised, but ugly, graphic and feral. Special effects are used sparingly and with great subtlety, not in the flashy way that is so prevalent in the post-Matrix/post-Spiderman Hollywood. The special effects in Let the Right One In do not call attention to themselves, but add to the narrative’s realism by blending in seamlessly with everything else. They make the film more horrific by seeming that much more real.

Just as the film is unafraid of exploring the messier, animalistic side of Eli’s nature, it is also unsparing in its depiction of the trials in Oskar’s life. The boys who bully him don’t settle for mundane disturbances, like teasing and taunting. These kids are truly malevolent and they have a great streak of cruelty within them, one which bursts forth in violent attacks upon the defenseless Oskar. The attacks make Oskar a disturbed character in his own right, long before Eli moves into town. One gets the impression that Oskar is a serial killer in the making, collecting clippings of violent crimes, and playing out numerous revenge fantasies with his knife.

Surprisingly, given the unbalanced nature of his protagonists, Alfredson is able to weave a tale of both horror and friendship, where allegiances are tested in terrifying ways. Oskar’s development as a character is both warped and disturbing, given his age and the things he experiences, yet he is engaging and sympathetic throughout. It is a brave film, indeed, which presents a children as disfunctional as Oskar and Eli, then sides with them, even against characters that are completely without guilt or blame. The film also observes that children can be more terrifying, cruel and sadistic than any vampire or monster that the human imagination can conjure. It is a strange tale of self-actualization and devotion, as Oskar discovers hidden strengths within himself through his association with Eli.

The film boasts great performances throughout, especially from its two underage leads; these aren’t child actors, but gifted actors who happen to be children, and neither of them go in for the facile, cutesy antics of their counterparts in other films. In a year of great popularity for the vampire subgenre, Let the Right One In, with its limited release, doubtlessly will be sunk by the Twilight juggernaut at the cinema, where both are vying for audiences. For viewers seeking a darker, far bloodier, and more adult take on vampirism, Let the Right One In is not only a great alternative, but one of the best films released this year.

Let the Right One In is currently playing at the Angelika in NYC, and in other selected cities throughout the country. A DVD is expected in March of 2009.

-Artemis

In a dystopian future, humanity falls prey to widepread organ failure, and an enterprising mogul named Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino) sees an opportunity to make himself rich by selling organ transplants to those in need. Eventually, elective surgery becomes all the rage, and more and more people find themselves signing contracts with Largo’s GeneCo, becoming increasingly addicted to both surgery and pain killers as a result. In time, the population falls deep into debt, and Largo uses his influence to pass an organ repossession bill through the government, enabling his company to employ repo men to forcefully re-acquire the organs that were transplanted, even at the expense of the patient’s life. One of these men is Nathan Wallace (Anthony Stewart Head), a doctor with a sickly daughter, Shilo (Alexa Vega), whom he keeps locked away from the dangers that the disease-ridden world holds for her.

Repo! The Genetic Opera has strengths, most notably in casting. Anthony Stewart Head and Paul Sorvino have great musical talents, and their performances are strong and committed. Head is both sympathetic and menacing in his roles of caretaker to his daughter and murderous man for hire. Sorvino is strong as an aging mogul who realizes that his unstable children are not worthy of his empire. Alexa Vega is vulnerable and impressionable as the young Shilo, but her character, who technically is the protagonist of the piece, doesn’t do much more than watch the proceedings, despite the fact that she has the most screen time.

Of the supporting cast, Sarah Brightman adds great backup as Blind Mag, a singer who owes her eyes to GeneCo. Unfortunately, she is underused, and we are treated instead to the trio of shallow, demented children of Rotti Largo, played by Bill Moseley, Nivek Ogre, and Paris Hilton. They are each effective in what they have to do, but the characters are so nihilistic and brattish that they may become as much of a nuisance to the viewer as they are to their father. Furthermore, their vocals lack the strength of the others’ musical abilities. The Grave Robber, played by Terrance Zdunich (creator and co-writer of Repo!), is well played, and sets the mood for the movie, but he also is ill-used. He is both omniscient narrator and an actor in the story who pops in every now and then to randomly reveal secrets to Shilo. His role as a pseudo-narrator would have been more interesting if it had been reduced to commentator (like Che in Evita), since the comic book panels (also drawn by Zdunich) that frame each chapter of the story already fullfill the task of narration. While his role as narrator should have been reduced, his role as actor in the story should have been expanded. His relationship with Shilo happens for no reason and doesn’t lead anywhere, so it serves no purpose other than exposition.

Visually, the movie is heavily stylized as a comic book, a horror movie and a rock opera. The aforementioned comic book panels work well as a means of flashing back to the past of the characters in the story. It is also to the film’s credit that it doesn’t shy away from what the Repo Man’s job entails. The repossession scenes are graphic, and true to the operatic horror that the filmmakers were aiming for. The great thing about Nathan Wallace isn’t that he’s tragically forced to kill where he was once a healer. The great thing is that he loathes himself because there’s a part of him that enjoys hurting and killing others.

Unfortunately, while the film is faithful to the comic book and horror parts of the blend that it is aiming for, its weakest element is its music. It is sung through, but the music is bland and lacks melody. There are about three decent, fully-realized songs in the whole film, and this is a serious liability for a film that presents itself first and foremost as a musical piece. As stated above, the cast members have the requisite musical abilities, but these are wasted on a soundtrack that is mostly spoken-song. The problem is compounded by the fact that there are several musical genres at play, and the transitions between them are awkward at some points and abrupt in others. The chorus, comprised of scantily clad nurses, is more obtrusive than a chorus should be, and it quickly becomes distracting rather than stylish.

When dealing with a musical, no amount of good work can overcome bad music. It’s been endlessly stated in the past that a musical lives or dies on its music. With Repo! The Genetic Opera, we have a flawed piece of cinema that could have overcome most of its problems with a great soundtrack. Since the music doesn’t deliver, the flaws in the work stand out that much more. There are great moments that hint at what the film could have been, like the Danse Macabre between Nathan and one of his victims, or Blind Mag’s meeting with Shilo in the Wallace household. It should also be noted that as a film aiming to carve out a unique identity for itself, it does stand out as fiercely different. Most of the film, however, falls short of its potential and the noble efforts made by the cast and crew.

Repo! The Genetic Opera is currently playing at the Angelika in NYC and in selected cities throughout the country.

-Artemis

We just received reports of the passing of Paul Newman. The Associated Press reports that he died on September 27th at 83 years of age after a long battle with cancer. Newman famously starred in such films as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Exodus, The Hustler, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting and The Verdict. CNN reports:

Newman was a Method-trained actor who blazed his own career trail and didn’t shy away from risky roles — inside and outside films. He stumped for liberal causes, including Eugene McCarthy’s 1968 presidential candidacy, and earned a spot on Richard Nixon’s enemies list — “the highest single honor I’ve ever received,” he said.

In 1982, Newman and his friend A.E. Hotchner founded Newman’s Own, a food company that produced food ranging from pasta sauces to salad dressing to chocolate chip cookies. “The embarrassing thing is that the salad dressing is outgrossing my films,” Newman once wryly noted. To date, the company — which donates all profits to charities such as Newman’s Hole in the Wall Gang camps — has given away more than $200 million. Newman established the camp to benefit gravely ill children… Today, there are 11 Hole in the Wall Gang camps around the world, with additional programs in Africa and Vietnam. Some 135,000 children have attended the camps — free of charge.

Newman was nominated for the Oscar ten times, winning his first Oscar for The Color of Money. Recently, he received great critical acclaim, as well as an Oscar nomination, for his role in The Road to Perdition. He also won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for the 2005 HBO producion Empire Falls. One of his most recent roles was in Pixar’s Cars. Before his retirement, it was said that Newman would re-unite with his most famous co-star, Robert Redford, for one more film, but a proper vehicle was never found and the project did not materialize. Paul Newman leaves behind his wife, Joanne Woodward, whom he married in 1958, and five children.

From film lovers everywhere, we’ll miss you, Paul. The world is a darker place without your great talent, your boundless generosity and benevolence, and without your twinkling, mischievous, blue eyes. You spent your life working to make the world a better place for everyone, especially children. Your compassion changed lives, and you’ve left behind an admirable legacy of service that will live well into the future. May your example be an inspiration to generations to come. You were a class act, Paul Newman, and there will never be another like you; we will miss you.

For more information on Paul’s Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, visit their Official Site, and see how you can contribute to Paul’s legacy.

-Artemis

When The X-Files went off the air in 2001, it left a lot of unanswered questions in its wake. Would Mulder and Scully survive being on the run? Would their names ever be cleared? What were the fates of all the other characters? Skinner, for instance, was left in a precarious situation in the final episode, as were Agents Doggett and Reyes. What about William, Scully’s child with Mulder? Finally, would the former agents be able to thwart the oncoming alien apocalypse, scheduled for 2012, as per the Mayan calendar?

In bringing the series back for another film, the show’s creators decided to make a stand-alone case, which meant that fans would not receive answers to the show’s alien mythology. Though these alien episodes were the show’s signature brand of paranoia, it is not surprising that the second film chose to bypass any exploration of the alien/government conspiracies. The fans of the show, perhaps waning in numbers and level of interest, would not be enough to fill the seats in the theatres. Non-fans might choose to stay away from what they would consider an inaccessible continuation of the series’ myth-arc episodes. Furthermore, The X-Files was a series that established itself on all sorts of supernatural phenomena (not just aliens), and some of its strongest episodes were the stand-alone cases (‘Squeeze’, ‘Beyond the Sea’, ‘Ice’, ‘Irresistible’ in the early part of the series all the way through ‘Triangle’ and ‘All Things’ in the 6th and 7th seasons). If done correctly, a movie done in the style of these stand-alones could be very effective. Unfortunately, most fans are seeking resolution to the questions that the series raised, and non-fans would probably stay away from a stand-alone X-File just as they would from mythic one, so the project was destined to be plagued with problems from its inception.

In the new film, former agents Mulder and Scully are tracked down by Agents Whitney and Drummy (played by Amanda Peet and Xzibit, respectively). The agents are investigating the disappearance of a young female agent, who was abducted from her home. They have received messages from a defrocked priest, Father Jo (Billy Connolly), who claims he can see visions of the abducted girl, and that he can lead the authorites to her. Despite the reservations of the FBI (especially her colleague, the skeptical Drummy), Whitney has enough pull to offer Mulder a full pardon if he chooses to assist her in the case. She feels that his expertise can help the FBI to ascertain whether Father Jo is a lead worth pursuing. Mulder, his curiosity about the paranormal undiminished by his years in exile, jumps onto the case, but Scully chooses to keep her distance. She is hesitant to return to “the darkness” of the X-Files, and she feels that her talents are best spent in her current position as a Doctor in a Catholic Hospital, where she is advocating controversial and radical stem cell treatment for a terminally ill boy.

David Duchovny steps back into Fox Mulder’s shoes effortlessly. The character’s greatest defining qualities, his curiosity and his stubbornness, are still there, still driving him forward, making the character ever familiar despite the passage of time and the change in his circumstances. Gillian Anderson is easily the strongest member of the cast, making Scully’s crisis of faith palpable to the viewer. Despite its association with Mulder, the title I Want to Believe relates to the Scully character in the film. Mulder is always ready to open his mind to extreme possibilities; it is Scully who is struggling with her faith, especially her faith in the Church.

As the catalyst for the plot and for Scully’s wavering beliefs, Billy Connolly’s Father Jo plays a crucial role in the film. Unfortunately, the part is bungled altogether, its tone dissonant, as if he had walked in for another movie. In the series, similar psychic characters were played very compellingly by Brad Dourif and Peter Boyle. Connolly fails to match up to their much superior examples. He is neither as arresting as the former nor as sympathetic as the latter. Xzibit (of Pimp My Ride and Derailed), is even worse than Connolly, though his role is, thankfully, a lot smaller. His inability to emote results in a perpetual scowl that he wears for the duration of the film. Again, we can look to the series itself for superior examples of skeptical characters. Besides Scully herself, we had Robert Patrick, who managed to imbue his skeptical Agent Doggett with enough humanity to keep him three-dimensional.

Luckily, Xzibit and Connolly are counterbalanced by Amanda Peet (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) as Agent Whitney, an agent who admires Mulder’s work and who displays a certain level of attraction towards him. In the role of ‘believer’, Peet is a definite improvement over the the television show’s bland Agent Reyes (played by Annabeth Gish). Peet conveys a level of intelligence and strength that Gish lacked. Also turning in a very strong performance is the ever-reliable Callum Keith Rennie (Battlestar Galactica, Due South) as Janke Dacyshyn, the sinister man stalking and abducting women from rural Virginia. Rennie, who was originally offered the role of Alex Krycek back in the second season of the show, brings to mind the best of The X-Files villains, like Eugene Victor Tooms, merciless and cruel.

Unfortunately, the overall plot is too convoluted and needlessly complicated. If the focus had been a lone abductor, the film might have been tighter. Dacyshyn is surrounded by shadowy associates, none of which is as effective as he is. Their motivations are unclear, as are their reasons for conducting their grizzly work in Virginia, where they are bound to be noticed sooner or later. Furthermore, the film asks the viewer to make leaps of logic or faith that feel more like lazy writing reaching for a Deux ex Machina in the most literal sense of that phrase: if it doesn’t make sense, The X-Files is asking you to consider that God made it happen. This is true of almost every plot point: the kidnapper’s connection to Father Jo, Mulder conveniently finding the bad guys’ hide-out, Scully doing the same in time to save Mulder (it wouldn’t be an X-File if Mulder didn’t foolishly place himself in mortal danger), etc, etc.

To be sure, there are some very effective moments throughout the film. The snowy, desolate landscape adds to the horror of the victims’ plight. The cinamatography and the direction are flawless. Carter has not forgotten how to create horror in each individual scene: the swimming pool, the dark, empty building, the lonely road. The problem is that these little moments do not add up to an elegant whole. As the film reaches farther and farther from the lone abductor, and with its focus on the ineffective priest character, it falls apart. For fans of the tv series, it should be noted that though this stand alone X-File cannot offer resolution to the alien plot of the show, it is nevertheless a resolution for the characters of Mulder and Scully, and this is better than no resolution at all. Furthermore, it is vastly superior to the last two seasons of the show, so the film does leave the viewer on a higher level of quality than the series ultimately did. Despite its flaws, it’s an effective little thriller, and as such it is worth checking out. Perhaps if it had been released in a less crowded, less bombastic time at the box office, it wouldn’t have gotten lost amongst the summer blockbusters. The X-Files: I Want to Believe is expected on DVD this winter.

-Artemis

If Wall-E had been made by any company other than Pixar, even if it had been made by Disney itself, the little robot protagonist would have been given the earnest voice of a hero, his struggles would be overt, flashy displays of bravery, and his cockroach friend would be a wisecracking sidekick who would spout wisdom in the form of pop culture references. Fortunately, Wall-E was created by Pixar, and it falls into none of these cliches. On the contrary, it transcends the highest standards of filmmaking, including those set down by previous Pixar productions.

Wall-E is the story of a robot, a Waste Allocation Load Lifter- Earth Class, who was built to organize and compact the garbage that has covered Earth, an uninhabitable wasteland. As he sorts the garbage from day to day, Wall-E develops a fascination with the objects that were left behind 700 years before by the human population of Earth. His fascination stems from a great solitude on the abandoned planet, where his only companion is a cockroach that follows him everywhere. Unlike other Wall-Es, this particular robot has learned to improvise and make adjustments to fix himself during his centuries on the job, so that he has outlasted all the other robots of his kind. His collection of human artifacts includes everything from lightbulbs to music cassettes (which he plays in his body), but his greatest treasure is a video of Hello Dolly, from which Wall-E begins to understand the concept of love. Wall-E sees that humans’ greatest emotional connections usually involve touch, particularly the holding of hands, and this contact is something that he craves above all else.

One day, Wall-E is shocked to receive a visit from a spaceship, which deposits a robot named EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) onto the surface. Eve is much more modern than Wall-E, who displays a rough surface and hints of rust. EVE is perfectly smooth, polished white, and she’s all business, searching for signs of life on Earth. Immediately smitten, Wall-E begins to pursue her, and through his perseverence and determination, as well as his selflessness, EVE begins to understand the concepts of emotions that are so present within Wall-E.

On the surface, this reads like a simple love story, and it does indeed function on that level, but also on many others. Pixar’s greatest triumph has always been its ability to infuse its characters (whether monsters, fish, or cars) with great humanity. The studio emphasizes characterization over fast-paced action, and it takes the time to build each personality patiently through quiet moments. This particular film, more than any other in their past, is composed primarily of those quiet moments, since about 2/3 of it is silent. Indeed, Wall-E is a very Chaplinesque character, an innocent little guy who gets in trouble that is far beyond his comprehension, but who nevertheless keeps fighting for the things he cares about.

In addition to the romance between Wall-E and EVE, the film functions on the level of social commentary. It is Pixar’s most melancholy film yet, a condemnation of consummerism and a reminder of our responsibility as stewards of the planet that has given us life. Though never pretentious nor preachy, the film presents a future in which humans have forgotten how to be human; they are people completely disabled by their dependence on technology. They don’t really live; they merely exist in a space station far away from Earth, helpless as babies and completely inactive. The species with the greatest capacity for innovation and creation is also the one with the greatest capacity for self-abuse and self-destruction. It takes a tiny little robot to teach them about their lost humanity.

Wall-E is a cinematic gem, one of the strongest films released in recent years (animated or not). The visuals are stunning, bringing to mind the visual poetry of such films as 2001: A Space Odyssey. One can almost feel the rust on Wall-E and his barren home, as well the cool surfaces of the space station. Furthermore, the animation of the robots is meticulous in conveying their emotions and endearing them to the viewer. Beyond technical innovation, Wall-E brings us an unforgettable hero, and an intelligent, poignant and universal story. It is further proof that animated films are worthy of standing alongside (and often above) live-action ones as the best examples of what the medium has to offer. Wall-E is cinema at its best.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been following J.K. Rowling’s suit against Steve Vander Ark, founder of The Harry Potter Lexicon. The website organizes Rowling’s Potter mythology into alphabetical order, so that a visitor may look up the definition of a word (and its uses in the Potter canon), or the biography of a character in the series. The Lexicon won Rowling’s Fansite Award a few years ago, and with the conclusion of the series, Vander Ark decided to go forward with plans to release the Lexicon in book form, despite the opposition of Rowling and Warner Brothers. Rowling brought suit, and the media coverage has been extensive. What is surprising is how ill-researched the coverage of the trial is. Because of lazy reporting, there are a lot of misconceptions about the trial circulating the internet. Before we examine those, let us examine the one key point that the media got right: the outcome of this trial will have legal repercussions that will influence copyright law in areas that extend far beyond Harry Potter and its fandom.

Misconception #1: J. K. Rowling is very rich. Therefore, she should allow Steve Vander Ark to share in the wealth.
This argument has not been presented by the media, but it has made its way into several boards and fan comments. Furthermore, news articles in “legitimate news sources” like The Chicago Tribune and MSNBC.com are painting Rowling as a Goliath trying to crush the vulnerable Steve Vander Ark’s David. An incredibly cliched and badly written article in The New Yorker compared Rowling and Vander Ark to Athena and Arachne, and painted a portrait of a wounded Steve, who expressed his complete befuddlement regarding Rowling’s cool reception of him at the trial. If we accept the notion that this case has wide-reaching repercussions, then it is of the utmost importance that the correct side wins, even if this side is the very wealthy Rowling and Warner Brothers. To put this into perspective, we must think of struggling authors, those who are not wealthy, who deserve protection for their work. The verdict for this case affects them, as well. Rowling’s wealth is irrelevant; if the Lexicon book infringes on her intellectual property, then she deserves protection under the law. Her bank account and Steve’s should not figure into the decision or into the coverage of the trial.

Misconception #2: J. K. Rowling is greedy. She wants to write a her own encyclopedia, and fears that Vader Ark’s book will minimize her personal profits from it.
Rowling doesn’t seem to me to be a hoarder of money. She has gifted vast sums to charities in the past. Furthermore, she has written books with the express purpose of donating their proceeds to charity (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages). She made a hand-written book, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which also raised millions for charity. She does, indeed, intend to write a Harry Potter Encyclopedia, but the profits of this work will go to charity also. If she has any concerns about its profits (such concerns are unlikely, given the popularity of the Potter books), her concerns have nothing to do with a greedy need to increase her personal fortune.

Misconception #3: Rowling opposes any books that try to cash in on the Harry Potter phenomenon, and therefore intends to bar all related works.
If you’ve gone to a bookstore within the last couple of years, you’ve seen several Harry Potter-related books on the shelves (ex. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Harry Potter, The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter, Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts, The Psychology of Harry Potter, etc.). Several of these books are marked as unauthorized, meaning that they are not endorsed by Rowling, but she is nevertheless aware of their existence. In the trial (the transcripts of which can be found on The Leaky Cauldron website), these books were discussed, and it was emphasized that Rowling made no attempt to block their publication. Whatever she feels about their quality (or lack thereof), she has chosen not to pursue undue legal action against books that fall outside of her copyright protection. On the contrary, she has encouraged the publication of at least one such book, Melissa Anelli’s chronicles of Harry Potter fandom (not yet released). This brings us to our next point…

Misconception #4: Steve Vander Ark’s book is protected under Fair Use, a legal clause that allows for the critique, analysis, parody and general discourse surrounding someone else’s work.
Fair Use is a wonderful thing. Without it, there would be no film reviews, no book discussions, no parody shows and no resources to include in our academic papers. Several people share The Chicago Tribune’s opinion that:

Notice that the “legal expert” they quoted is one in the employ of Rapoport, owner of RDR Books. Also, notice that both these sources failed to acknowledge the fact that Rowling HAS ALLOWED publication of Potter-related books in the past, even if she does not actively endorse them. This has led to the misconception that Rowling opposes all such works. On the contrary, Rowling has a history of supporting anti-censorship organizations. Also, unlike other authors such as Anne Rice, Rowling has allowed and encouraged internet fanfiction featuring her characters (ex. The Sugar Quill). Her concern is not with Potter-related books in general, but with the Lexicon in particular, because it literally uses her words. This is not a case concerning a book that analyzes Rowling’s work, and brings its own set of ideas to the table (an example of such a book is the excellent Harry Potter and Philosophy, as well as the other works mentioned above). This is a case concerning a book that takes Rowling’s work, word for word, and rearranges it without bringing new content that would qualify the Lexicon as an original text. To add insult to injury, The Leaky Cauldron reports that the Lexicon book does not even cite the sources of the information that it is presenting. If Steve Vander Ark were a college student, he would fail any project that lacked such critical citations, and there are indications that he knew the endeavor was a shady one. Initially, he had refused to publish his Lexicon, precisely because of copyright concerns, and when he agreed to RDR Books’ offer, he demanded a clause that would compel RDR Books to pay all legal fees in case of a lawsuit.

Misconception #5: Rowling promoted the Lexicon website, and gave it a Fansite Award. In the trial, she called the Lexicon a “sloppy” text. Why is she so inconsistent?
Here, I will admit my limitations in the area of law, and express confusion as to why the Lexicon’s quality was brought up at trial. I don’t see whether its being great text or shoddy text matters, so long as it is Vander Ark’s text. I can say, however, that there is a huge difference between presenting the Lexicon as a free website and publishing it for +$25 a copy. Clearly, the difference here is the Vander Ark has now entered a situation in which he seeks to profit from Rowling’s work, something he was not doing with the website. This is the equivalent of taking a piece of Harry Potter fanfiction and releasing it in book form. Actually, it’s worse than that, since the fanfiction would presumably be an original story, created by the new author, which is more than we can say about Vander Ark’s Lexicon.

My reaction to the suit is clearly pro-Rowling. Legally, no one should profit from someone else’s work, period. This opinion does not stem from a blind devotion to her, but from a concern about the protection of intellectual property and copyright. Let us remember that copyright was established to protect the artist/creator and to ensure that he can benefit from his work and continue to create. If creators are not protected this way, then anyone can steal their work, and they would lose significant resources necessary for their continued creation of new works. It is surprising to me that any author, or any organization that seeks to promote writers, would support the work of a man who threatening the very core of copyright protection, something that authors should hold dear. I also expected that the press, when covering the case, would take care to research it more thoroughly. One can only hope that the verdict of the trial is a fair one, not one based on such a lack of integrity as the press has displayed in its coverage of it.

-Artemis

Cuando me preguntaban de que era El Orfanato, yo decia que El Orfanato es Peter Pan, contado desde el punto de vista de la madre.-Sergio G. Sanchez, Escritor

When people asked me what The Orphanage was about, I would tell them The Orphanage is Peter Pan, told from the point of view of the mother.-Sergio G. Sanchez, Screenwriter

Juan Antonio Bayona’s The Orphanage is a haunted house story, similar in tone to The Others or The Innocents (with a hint of Bunny Lake is Missing thrown in), centered on the seclusion of a grand manor and the terrors found therein. Because this setting is so familiar in both literature and film, audiences may be wary of traveling this familiar road for yet another time, which would be a shame, since The Orphanage definitely is worth watching for its considerable merits.

Belen Rueda stars as Laura, a woman who returns to the orphanage where she spent her childhood and makes it a home for her family, husband Carlos and son Simon. From the moment they settle into the house, Simon makes friends with children that only he can see. Laura and Carlos dismiss these imaginary friends as a phase in the development of an only child. One day, during an open house celebration, Simon disappears, and the film chronicles Laura’s efforts to find her son.

The film was produced by Guillermo del Toro, and consequently has been compared to del Toro’s critically acclaimed Pan’s Labyrinth. I think this comparison is faulty, for the themes of The Orphanage bear a much stronger resemblance to The Devil’s Backbone, del Toro’s 2001 horror film about a ghostly haunting at a home for boys orphaned by the Spanish civil war. All three films dwell in the horrors of childhood, in the worlds that only children understand and only children can access.

The main difference for The Orphanage is that the child is NOT the protagonist. We see mysteries of childhood through the eyes of an adult, one who is desperate to unlock them so that she may find her child. There are beautiful poignant themes of eternal youth and never growing up, themes that are highlighted by references within the film to Peter Pan, the boy who would not grow up (in much the same way that Pan‘s Labyrinth referenced Alice in Wonderland) and to Wendy, the girl who told great stories and chose to become an adult. These references are both spoken and visual, most notably in the great window through which Peter flies in to hear Wendy’s stories, a window that has a counterpart in Laura‘s home, where Laura spends much of her time telling stories to Simon.

The film is beautifully rendered, its muted colors emphasizing the isolation and the sadness that the orphanage has seen over the years. The direction is quietly effective, as fear is built through subtlety and tension, and not through cheap, loud thrills (with one notable exception). The dark shadows of the orphanage conceal the horrors of our collective imaginations, and the great work done with darkness is a credit to cinematographer.

Performances are stellar all around. In supporting roles, Edgar Vivar (known primarily as a comedian in the Spanish-speaking world) and Geraldine Chaplin (Charlie’s daughter, who has an impressive career of her own with wonderful supporting roles in films like Home for the Holidays and Hable Con Ella) are immensely effective as a pair of parapsychologists who are engaged by Laura to explore the mysteries of the house in one of the film‘s most suspenseful sequences. Fernando Cayo provides a great counterpoint as Laura’s husband, the film’s skeptic, who tries to draw Laura away from her grief, to help her get on with her life. Ultimately, it is Belen Rueda who must carry the film on her shoulders, and her performance as Laura is most worthy of praise, never descending into unnecessary histrionics, but always keeping at the forefront Laura’s heartbreak over the loss of her child.

The Orphanage is a film that will stay with you after you watch it. Though it is effective as a horror film, it never forgets the human characters that lie at the center of its story, and their anguish and sadness, their fleshed-out humanity, make us care about them much more than we could ever care about the assembly-line characters of most modern horror films. It is the characters that will haunt us after we watch The Orphanage, and that is great testament to the power of its storytelling, making this film a wonderful addition to the genre.

The Orphanage is available on DVD this week.