El espinazo del diablo (2001)

Voti degli utenti:

7.6/10   

Regista:

Guillermo del Toro

Scrittori:

Guillermo del Toro (written by) and
Antonio Trashorras (written by) ...

Data di uscita:

20 aprile 2001 (Spain)

Genere:

Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Slogan:

The living will always be more dangerous than the dead.

Plot:

It is 1939, the end of three years of bloody civil war in Spain, and General Franco's right-wing Nationalists...

Plot Keywords:

Orphanage | Ghost | Bully | Bomb | Spain

Premi:

6 wins & 7 nominations

Recensioni degli utenti:

"What is a ghost? A tragedy condemned to repeat itself time and again? ...

Cast

Eduardo Noriega	...	Jacinto
Marisa Paredes	...	Carmen
Federico Luppi	...	Casares
Fernando Tielve	...	Carlos
Íñigo Garcés	...	Jaime
Irene Visedo	...	Conchita
José Manuel Lorenzo	...	Marcelo
Francisco Maestre	...	El Puerco (as Paco Maestre)
Junio Valverde	...	Santi
Berta Ojea	...	Alma
Adrián Lamana	...	Gálvez
Daniel Esparza	...	Marcos
Miguel Ortiz
Juan Carlos Vellido
Javier Bódalo	...	Owl (as Javier González Madrigal)

Alias:

The Devil's Backbone (Europe: English title) (UK) (USA)
La spina del diavolo (Italy) [it]

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and some sexuality.

Durata:

106 min | Australia:108 min

Nazionalità:

Spain | Mexico

Lingua:

Spagnolo

Colore:

Colore

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sonoro:

Dolby Digital

Divieti:

Netherlands:16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Chile:14 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Japan:PG-12 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Finland:K-15

Luoghi riprese:

Madrid, Spain

Compagnia:

El Deseo S.A.

Curiosità:

Described by Guillermo del Toro as being a sibling film to El laberinto del fauno (2006) (this being the masculine "brother" film, and Pan's as the feminine "sister" film).

Citazioni:

Casares: Stay by my side as my light grows dim /as my blood slows down and my nerves shatter with stabbing pain / as my heart grows weak / and the wheels of my being turn slowly / Stay by my side /as my fragile body is racked by pain /which verges on truth / and manic time continues scattering dust / and furious life bursts out in flames. Stay by my side / as I fade / so you can point to the end of my struggle /and the twilight of eternal days / at the low, dark edge of life.

Collegamenti:

Citato in Hellboy (2004)

Colonna sonora:

Presuridos

"What is a ghost? A tragedy condemned to repeat itself time and again? ...

...An instant of pain, perhaps. Something dead which still seems to be alive. An emotion suspended in time. Like a blurred photograph. Like an insect trapped in amber."

Often compared to "The Sixth Sense (1999)" and "The Others (2001)", "The Devil's Backbone" is even a better film, the ultimate ghost story that goes beyond the genre and very successfully mixes horror, suspense, and coming of age during the war time story. Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, the film takes place during the Spanish Civil War in an isolated boarding school for the orphans of the War where a new boy, Carlos encounters the ghost of a murdered child Santi whose body was never found and who warns Carlos that "Many of you will die". How did Santi die? Why does not he leave the school's courtyard, what is the tragedy he is trying to prevent? It is up to Carlos to find the answers to these and many more questions as well as to stand up to the school's bully, Jaime and to find out what is behind the violent hostility of the orphanage's nasty caretaker, Jacinto who himself was and orphan and had been a pupil in the school as a child. The movie is not just beautifully directed – it is very well written and provides the deep insight into each character, including school headmistress named Carmen (Marisa Paredes), kind and brave Professor Casares, vicious bully Jaime who would turn a lonely and scared boy and even the embodiment of evil, Jacinto with his own heartbreaking story. Along with "The Spirit of the Beehive", "Devil's Backbone" is a harrowing exploration of the war and its affect on childhood. It also brings to mind such classic as Bunuel's "Los Olvidados" – and this is the best praise I have for any movie. Highly recommended.