The Devil's Backbone
Encyclopedia
The Devil's Backbone is a 2001 Spanish
-Mexican gothic
thriller film written by Guillermo del Toro
, Antonio Trashorras
and David Muñoz
, and directed by Guillermo del Toro. It was independently produced
by Pedro Almodóvar
.
The film is set in Spain, 1939 during the Spanish Civil War
. During the director's commentary in the DVD, del Toro stated that, along with Hellboy
, this was his most personal project. The film was shot in Madrid
.
, thinking that he will be staying there temporarily, until his father returns from the Spanish Civil War
. In the center of its courtyard, there is a bomb which was defused. Carlos then sees a ghost of a boy in the kitchen doorway who disappears shortly after. When he goes in to investigate, he is distracted by two orphans, Galvez and Owl, whom he befriends. He shows them his toys and comics, until Jaime (Íñigo Garcés), an older orphan, steals one of them. Carlos starts to fight with him but is distracted by the sight of his tutor and his bodyguard driving away without him. Although he doesn't know it, his father is dead, and he will be staying in the orphanage indefinitely. Dr. Casares (Federico Luppi), the assistant administrator, sympathizes with him. That night, in his bed, Carlos is distracted by noises, suggested to be a ghost
. The alleged ghost knocks over a pitcher of water, which wakes the rest of the orphans. Carlos and Jaime dare each other to go into the kitchen and refill the water pitchers. Carlos wanders down a spiral staircase
, where he hears the ghost, who tells him cryptically that many will die. He runs away, but Jacinto (Eduardo Noriega
), a former orphan who now works at the orphanage, catches him.
The next day, Carlos does not reveal why he was out, which earns him Jaime's respect. However only when Carlos saves Jaime from drowning at the cost of having his face cut by Jacinto does Jaime's bullying of Carlos' cease. Jaime offers him a drawing and a piece of cake in return for the stolen comic book
, to which Carlos refuses. When a long sigh is heard, an orphan mentions a ghost, and it is explained to Carlos that a boy named Santi (Junio Valverde) had disappeared on the same night the bomb was dropped. And since then, there has been a ghost haunting the orphanage. Jaime acts as if he does not believe in the ghost. Later on at night, Carlos sneaks out to the courtyard. He approaches the bomb and asks it to show him where Santi is. In response, a paper streamer on the bomb is caught by the wind and leads him to the ghost, but Carlos becomes scared, and runs away. The ghost follows him into the main building and corners Carlos at the end of a hallway. Frightened, he locks himself in a closet, where he sleeps that night. Later when Carlos looks in Jaime's sketchbook and finds a picture of Santi bleeding he then realizes that Jaime knows more than he's telling. Jacinto has been in the orphanage for a long time, and despises the place. His girlfriend Conchita (Irene Visedo), on whom Jaime has a crush, has plans with him to get married. He is aware of the existence of a stash of gold
at the orphanage, and he uses sexual favors to steal keys from Carmen (Marisa Paredes
), the head of the orphanage to open the safe. Carmen loves Dr. Casares, though she is unwilling to acknowledge this. Dr. Casares is embarrassed by his impotence and it seems to inhibit his confidence relating to the physical aspect of his love. Jacinto is unsuccessful in stealing the right key
to the safe.
On a trip to town, Dr. Casares witnesses Carlos' tutor and his bodyguard being executed by the army. Dr. Casares plans to lead the orphans away from the orphanage, because of the rapidly escalating war
. Jacinto demands the gold but is forced to leave at gunpoint. As the orphans and staff prepare to leave, Conchita discovers Jacinto preparing to blow up the safe. She threatens him with a shotgun, he taunts her, and she accidentally shoots him in the shoulder. In the ensuing melee, Jacinto succeeds in burning much of the orphanage down before leaving. The explosion kills Carmen and many orphans, leaving many of the survivors badly wounded, including Dr. Casares. Dr. Casares resolves to take up guard duty over the remains of the orphanage, waiting at the window with a shotgun for the return of Jacinto.
The night after the explosion, Jaime tells Carlos that he was present when Santi was killed. They had been collecting slugs near the cistern, a sort of man-made pool of water in the cellar under the kitchen. Santi hears a noise and discovers Jacinto trying to break into the safe. Santi runs back into the cellar and Jacinto follows. Jacinto tries to threaten Santi; when they struggle, Jacinto slams him against a support column. Santi suffers a serious head wound and begins to go into shock. Jacinto enters a state of panic and rushes off. In Jacinto's absence, Jaime comes out of his hiding place and tries his best to comfort the mortally wounded Santi, the scene being revealed to the audience as the same one that was foreshadowed at the very beginning of the film. Jaime then hears Jacinto returning, and runs off. Jacinto, unaware of Jaime's presence, ties weights to Santi's body and pushes his still-alive body in the cistern, where he drowns.
The second day after the explosion, Dr. Casares succumbs to his wounds, but before dying vows to the boys that he will not leave them. Meanwhile, Jacinto is en route back to the orphanage with two co-conspirators. While driving, he meets an exhausted Conchita, who has walked through the night attempting to enlist aid in the town. Jacinto stops the vehicle and demands that Conchita apologize for shooting him. Conchita refuses, stating proudly that she is no longer afraid of him. Jacinto stabs her in the stomach, killing her. Leaving her body on the side of the road, Jacinto and his friends make their way to the orphanage, where they imprison the surviving orphans and then set about looking for the gold. Jacinto and his accomplices manage to open the damaged safe where Jacinto saw the gold hidden, but are despondent when it is revealed to be empty. Angry, the conspirators abandon Jacinto, taking the car and leaving him at the orphanage. However, in his despair Jacinto catches a glint of light in the rubble, and finds the gold hidden in Carmen's prosthetic leg, half-buried in debris.
Meanwhile, the orphans rationalize that they will be killed once Jacinto finds the gold. They sharpen sticks with shards of glass as makeshift weapons, and Galvez volunteers to climb out of a small, high window in order to open the locked door from the outside. Unfortunately, Galvez severely injures his ankle after he slips and falls from the window and is unable to move. Very much to the surprise of the other boys, the door suddenly unlocks and opens, seemingly of its own accord. The boys quickly exit and come to the aid of Galvez, who tells them that it was Dr. Casares who opened the door and that the doctor told him that the boys must be brave and protect one another. The boys find Dr. Casares' monogrammed pocket square in the hallway, and move to confront Jacinto. The boys cleverly lure Jacinto into the cellar, and distract him while Jaime stabs him in the chest. The boys then push the wounded Jacinto into the same pool of water where he drowned Santi. Weighed down by the gold in his pockets and dragged down by the ghost of Santi, Jacinto drowns. The surviving children then leave the orphanage, watched over silently by the ghost of Dr. Casares.
would in 2006. Roger Ebert
compared it favorably to The Others
, another ghost story released in the same year. Christopher Varney, of Film Threat
, claimed: "That 'The Devil's Backbone' makes any sense at all — with its many, swirling plotlines — seems like a little wonder." A.O. Scott, of The New York Times
gave the film a positive review, and claimed that "The director, Guillermo del Toro, balances dread with tenderness, and refracts the terror and sadness of the time through the eyes of a young boy, who only half-understands what he is witnessing."
The film was #61 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments for its various scenes in which the ghost is seen. It currently holds a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes
. Bloody Disgusting
ranked the film at number eighteen in their list of the 'Top 20 Horror Films of the Decade', with the article calling the film "elegant and deeply-felt... it’s alternately a gut-wrenching portrait of childhood in a time of war and a skin-crawling, evocative nightmare."
Spanish films of 2001
-2001:-External links:* at the Internet Movie Database...
-Mexican gothic
Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...
thriller film written by Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro is a Mexican director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and designer. He is mostly known for his acclaimed films, Blade II, Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy film franchise. He is a frequent collaborator with Ron Perlman, Federico Luppi and Doug Jones...
, Antonio Trashorras
Antonio Trashorras
-Biography:He collaborated on the screenplay of The Devil's Backbone, and Agnosía. He has worked in the Spanish television.-External links:...
and David Muñoz
David Muñoz
David Muñoz born in 1996 in Ciudad de Mexico, Estado de Mexico, central Mexico is a Spanish director, producer, and screenwriter.- Biography :Economist. PhD in Financial Economics. He player for Patriots for several years and won 2 Superbowls...
, and directed by Guillermo del Toro. It was independently produced
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
by Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar Caballero is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer.Almodóvar is arguably the most successful and internationally known Spanish filmmaker of his generation. His films, marked by complex narratives, employ the codes of melodrama and use elements of pop culture, popular...
.
The film is set in Spain, 1939 during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. During the director's commentary in the DVD, del Toro stated that, along with Hellboy
Hellboy (film)
Hellboy is a 2004 supernatural superhero film, starring Ron Perlman, John Hurt and Selma Blair, directed by Guillermo del Toro. The film is based on the Dark Horse Comics work Hellboy: Seed of Destruction by Mike Mignola. It was produced by Revolution Studios, and distributed by Columbia Pictures...
, this was his most personal project. The film was shot in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
.
Plot
A boy named Carlos (Fernando Tielve) arrives at an orphanageOrphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
, thinking that he will be staying there temporarily, until his father returns from the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. In the center of its courtyard, there is a bomb which was defused. Carlos then sees a ghost of a boy in the kitchen doorway who disappears shortly after. When he goes in to investigate, he is distracted by two orphans, Galvez and Owl, whom he befriends. He shows them his toys and comics, until Jaime (Íñigo Garcés), an older orphan, steals one of them. Carlos starts to fight with him but is distracted by the sight of his tutor and his bodyguard driving away without him. Although he doesn't know it, his father is dead, and he will be staying in the orphanage indefinitely. Dr. Casares (Federico Luppi), the assistant administrator, sympathizes with him. That night, in his bed, Carlos is distracted by noises, suggested to be a ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
. The alleged ghost knocks over a pitcher of water, which wakes the rest of the orphans. Carlos and Jaime dare each other to go into the kitchen and refill the water pitchers. Carlos wanders down a spiral staircase
Spiral staircase
Spiral staircase may refer to:* A type of stairway characterized by its spiral shape* The Spiral Staircase , a 1946 American psychological thriller film* The Spiral Staircase , a 1975 British film, a remake of the 1946 film...
, where he hears the ghost, who tells him cryptically that many will die. He runs away, but Jacinto (Eduardo Noriega
Eduardo Noriega (Spanish actor)
Eduardo Noriega Gómez is a Spanish film actor, perhaps best known for his roles in two Alejandro Amenábar films, the multiple Goya Award-winning Tesis and Open Your Eyes . He also starred in The Wolf...
), a former orphan who now works at the orphanage, catches him.
The next day, Carlos does not reveal why he was out, which earns him Jaime's respect. However only when Carlos saves Jaime from drowning at the cost of having his face cut by Jacinto does Jaime's bullying of Carlos' cease. Jaime offers him a drawing and a piece of cake in return for the stolen comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
, to which Carlos refuses. When a long sigh is heard, an orphan mentions a ghost, and it is explained to Carlos that a boy named Santi (Junio Valverde) had disappeared on the same night the bomb was dropped. And since then, there has been a ghost haunting the orphanage. Jaime acts as if he does not believe in the ghost. Later on at night, Carlos sneaks out to the courtyard. He approaches the bomb and asks it to show him where Santi is. In response, a paper streamer on the bomb is caught by the wind and leads him to the ghost, but Carlos becomes scared, and runs away. The ghost follows him into the main building and corners Carlos at the end of a hallway. Frightened, he locks himself in a closet, where he sleeps that night. Later when Carlos looks in Jaime's sketchbook and finds a picture of Santi bleeding he then realizes that Jaime knows more than he's telling. Jacinto has been in the orphanage for a long time, and despises the place. His girlfriend Conchita (Irene Visedo), on whom Jaime has a crush, has plans with him to get married. He is aware of the existence of a stash of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
at the orphanage, and he uses sexual favors to steal keys from Carmen (Marisa Paredes
Marisa Paredes
María Luisa Paredes Bartolomé, , better known in show business as Marisa Paredes, is a Spanish actress.-Biography:...
), the head of the orphanage to open the safe. Carmen loves Dr. Casares, though she is unwilling to acknowledge this. Dr. Casares is embarrassed by his impotence and it seems to inhibit his confidence relating to the physical aspect of his love. Jacinto is unsuccessful in stealing the right key
Key (lock)
A key is an instrument that is used to operate a lock. A typical key consists of two parts: the blade, which slides into the keyway of the lock and distinguishes between different keys, and the bow, which is left protruding so that torque can be applied by the user. The blade is usually intended to...
to the safe.
On a trip to town, Dr. Casares witnesses Carlos' tutor and his bodyguard being executed by the army. Dr. Casares plans to lead the orphans away from the orphanage, because of the rapidly escalating war
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. Jacinto demands the gold but is forced to leave at gunpoint. As the orphans and staff prepare to leave, Conchita discovers Jacinto preparing to blow up the safe. She threatens him with a shotgun, he taunts her, and she accidentally shoots him in the shoulder. In the ensuing melee, Jacinto succeeds in burning much of the orphanage down before leaving. The explosion kills Carmen and many orphans, leaving many of the survivors badly wounded, including Dr. Casares. Dr. Casares resolves to take up guard duty over the remains of the orphanage, waiting at the window with a shotgun for the return of Jacinto.
The night after the explosion, Jaime tells Carlos that he was present when Santi was killed. They had been collecting slugs near the cistern, a sort of man-made pool of water in the cellar under the kitchen. Santi hears a noise and discovers Jacinto trying to break into the safe. Santi runs back into the cellar and Jacinto follows. Jacinto tries to threaten Santi; when they struggle, Jacinto slams him against a support column. Santi suffers a serious head wound and begins to go into shock. Jacinto enters a state of panic and rushes off. In Jacinto's absence, Jaime comes out of his hiding place and tries his best to comfort the mortally wounded Santi, the scene being revealed to the audience as the same one that was foreshadowed at the very beginning of the film. Jaime then hears Jacinto returning, and runs off. Jacinto, unaware of Jaime's presence, ties weights to Santi's body and pushes his still-alive body in the cistern, where he drowns.
The second day after the explosion, Dr. Casares succumbs to his wounds, but before dying vows to the boys that he will not leave them. Meanwhile, Jacinto is en route back to the orphanage with two co-conspirators. While driving, he meets an exhausted Conchita, who has walked through the night attempting to enlist aid in the town. Jacinto stops the vehicle and demands that Conchita apologize for shooting him. Conchita refuses, stating proudly that she is no longer afraid of him. Jacinto stabs her in the stomach, killing her. Leaving her body on the side of the road, Jacinto and his friends make their way to the orphanage, where they imprison the surviving orphans and then set about looking for the gold. Jacinto and his accomplices manage to open the damaged safe where Jacinto saw the gold hidden, but are despondent when it is revealed to be empty. Angry, the conspirators abandon Jacinto, taking the car and leaving him at the orphanage. However, in his despair Jacinto catches a glint of light in the rubble, and finds the gold hidden in Carmen's prosthetic leg, half-buried in debris.
Meanwhile, the orphans rationalize that they will be killed once Jacinto finds the gold. They sharpen sticks with shards of glass as makeshift weapons, and Galvez volunteers to climb out of a small, high window in order to open the locked door from the outside. Unfortunately, Galvez severely injures his ankle after he slips and falls from the window and is unable to move. Very much to the surprise of the other boys, the door suddenly unlocks and opens, seemingly of its own accord. The boys quickly exit and come to the aid of Galvez, who tells them that it was Dr. Casares who opened the door and that the doctor told him that the boys must be brave and protect one another. The boys find Dr. Casares' monogrammed pocket square in the hallway, and move to confront Jacinto. The boys cleverly lure Jacinto into the cellar, and distract him while Jaime stabs him in the chest. The boys then push the wounded Jacinto into the same pool of water where he drowned Santi. Weighed down by the gold in his pockets and dragged down by the ghost of Santi, Jacinto drowns. The surviving children then leave the orphanage, watched over silently by the ghost of Dr. Casares.
Cast
- Fernando Tielve as Carlos, the protagonistProtagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
. He is described by del Toro in the DVD commentary as a force of innocenceInnocenceInnocence is a term used to indicate a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, sin, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence refers to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime.-Symbolism:...
. Tielve had originally auditioned to be cast as an extra before del ToroGuillermo del ToroGuillermo del Toro is a Mexican director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and designer. He is mostly known for his acclaimed films, Blade II, Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy film franchise. He is a frequent collaborator with Ron Perlman, Federico Luppi and Doug Jones...
decided to cast him as the lead. This was his film debut. Both Tielve and his co-star Iñigo Garcés had cameos as guerrilla soldiers in Pan's LabyrinthPan's LabyrinthPan's Labyrinth is a 2006 Spanish Spanish-language dark fantasy film, written and directed by Mexican film-maker Guillermo del Toro. It was produced and distributed by the Mexican film company Esperanto Films...
. - Íñigo Garcés as Jaime, the orphanage bully; he begins as an antagonist, but later befriends Carlos.
- Eduardo NoriegaEduardo Noriega (Spanish actor)Eduardo Noriega Gómez is a Spanish film actor, perhaps best known for his roles in two Alejandro Amenábar films, the multiple Goya Award-winning Tesis and Open Your Eyes . He also starred in The Wolf...
as Jacinto, the primary antagonistAntagonistAn antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
. - Marisa ParedesMarisa ParedesMaría Luisa Paredes Bartolomé, , better known in show business as Marisa Paredes, is a Spanish actress.-Biography:...
as Carmen, the administrator of the orphanage. - Federico Luppi as Dr. Casares, the narratorNarratorA narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
and doctor of the orphanage. He narrates in bookendsFraming deviceThe term framing device refers to the usage of the same single action, scene, event, setting, or any element of significance at both the beginning and end of an artistic, musical, or literary work. The repeated element thus creates a ‘frame’ within which the main body of work can develop.The...
at the end and the beginning. Luppi had previously been cast in del Toro's earlier effort CronosCronos (film)Cronos is a 1993 Mexican horror film written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, starring veteran Argentine actor Federico Luppi and American actor Ron Perlman, the first of several films on which del Toro, Luppi and Perlman have collaborated...
. - Junio Valverde as Santi, an orphan who becomes a ghostGhostIn traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
. - Irene Visedo as Conchita, Jacinto's fiancée.
Reception
The response was generally positive, though it did not receive the critical success that Pan's LabyrinthPan's Labyrinth
Pan's Labyrinth is a 2006 Spanish Spanish-language dark fantasy film, written and directed by Mexican film-maker Guillermo del Toro. It was produced and distributed by the Mexican film company Esperanto Films...
would in 2006. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
compared it favorably to The Others
The Others (2001 film)
The Others is a 2001 psychological horror film by the Spanish-Chilean director Alejandro Amenábar, starring Nicole Kidman. It is inspired partly by the novella The Turn of the Screw....
, another ghost story released in the same year. Christopher Varney, of Film Threat
Film Threat
Film Threat is a former print magazine and, now, webzine which focuses primarily on independent film, although it also reviews DVDs of mainstream films and Hollywood movies in theaters. It first appeared as a photocopied zine in 1985, created by Wayne State University students Chris Gore and André...
, claimed: "That 'The Devil's Backbone' makes any sense at all — with its many, swirling plotlines — seems like a little wonder." A.O. Scott, of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
gave the film a positive review, and claimed that "The director, Guillermo del Toro, balances dread with tenderness, and refracts the terror and sadness of the time through the eyes of a young boy, who only half-understands what he is witnessing."
The film was #61 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments for its various scenes in which the ghost is seen. It currently holds a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. Bloody Disgusting
Bloody Disgusting
Bloody Disgusting is a website that covers horror movies with reviews, interviews and news. It is currently run by Brad Miska, and Tom Owen. According to one source, the site has 1.5 million unique visitors and 20 million page views each month. It is widely considered to be the "world's most...
ranked the film at number eighteen in their list of the 'Top 20 Horror Films of the Decade', with the article calling the film "elegant and deeply-felt... it’s alternately a gut-wrenching portrait of childhood in a time of war and a skin-crawling, evocative nightmare."
External links
- Review at Cinefantastique Online