Traditionally Single Party there’s a stark line between high art films that are food for thought and genre movies, which are considered junk food, or “popcorn films.” Citizen Kane is the ultimate example of the former, and Star Wars of the latter. We live in post-Star Wars world, of course, where fantasy – aliens, monsters, men and women in capes – rules the cinematic universe. That most of the top ten movies at the box office (as I write this) are steeped in the fantastical, is evidence.
But these two worlds don’t need to be so exclusive, and no one brings them together better than Guillermo del Toro, particularly in his two most personal films: The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth. Pan’s, a period fairy tale film populated by monsters both mythical and human, is a multiple Academy Award-winning production, while The Devil’s Backbone, a period ghost story, was released in the shadow of 9/11 and has slowly found its audience over the past decade. Regardless, the filmmaker has called The Devil’s Backbone his favourite of his works, and considers it his first real feature, as his previous two, the vampire flick Cronos and giant bug chiller Mimic, did not turn out as he intended for various reasons.
The Devil’s Backbone is an absolute masterpiece, though, and now it’s finally getting its proper due with the Criterion Collection special edition of the film out this Tuesday, July 30th. I got my hands on an advanced copy and the wealth of extra features illustrates why del Toro is not just one of the best directors working in genre film, but one of the greatest filmmakers of his age.
The story is set in 1939, the final year of the Spanish Civil War, and follows a boy named Carlos (Fernando Tielve), who arrives at an orphanage run by a one legged woman (Federico Luppi) and an impotent man (Frederico Luppi, who starred in Cronos) who are against the encroaching fascist forces. While there, Carlos realizes that the place is haunted by the ghost of a boy named Santi who was murdered by a worker at the orphanage, Jacinto (Eduardo Noriega), who has a sinister plan to uncover some hidden gold. As Santi guides Carlos to learn the truth, both the orphans and the teachers are in increasing danger.
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