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The latest from Guillermo del Toro: El Orfanato

Title: El Orfanato (The Orphanage)
Released: 2007

Plot Summary

Laura returns to the orphanage where she grew up with her adopted son Simón and husband Carlos, with the dream of turning it into a home for special needs kids. The historic orphanage is a picturesque place to raise a child, near the ocean and full of good memories of Laura's own childhood. Laura and Carlos struggle with whether to tell Simón about his adoption and the fact that he is HIV positive, especially as they see Simón going through a difficult stage full of imaginary friends.

The mix of fantasy and reality in El Orfanato is as masterfully done as Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, and is one of the eeriest films I've seen of late.

Language Learning Notes

The accents are all from Spain, and are relatively easy to understand (although better with subtitles in Spanish).

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