take it that Laura is psychologically deteriorating as opposed to the ghost activites being true.
This is one of the best ghost films I've seen. The behaviours of the ghosts and the tragedy that binds them to the house, as well as the seance, are convincing. And as a ghost story it is also a profound love story.
rouge silk,share
fierce concentrated joy,
fires the blood
I think it's a mix of both. I think Simon dressed up as Tomas and pushed her in the bathroom and I think he set up the game (remember she finds the wilted flower? To me that proves that it had been there for a while and that Tomas couldn't have just recently put it there, meaning Simon must have put it there months ago) to get his mother's attention because she refused to come to Tomas' house with him. However, I DO think the ghosts were contacting him and I DO think the ghosts helped Laura at the end. I don't think Simon found out he was adopted and had HIV by snooping around, I think the ghosts told him. I think Tomas wanted to show Simon his house and be his friend, but I don't think he ever meant to have Simon trapped down there. I think that the ghosts being real has to be right because then how else would Laura have known to look in the closet? If they were all a figment of her imagination than that means that, sub consciously, she knew Simon was down there the entire time. But how would she? Remember when she chases the girl in there and then someone slams the door shut? To me, the ghosts were obviously leading her to Simon. I think they would have led her to him sooner had she asked sooner/believed sooner. They couldn't come to her unless she truly believed in them.
The only thing that bothers me about this film is the fact that Simon doesn't scream when he's in the basement. What child wouldn't start crying if he got trapped in a basement? What child wouldn't be screaming, "Mommy! Mommy!" I do realize that if that had happened, Laura would have heard him and they would have found him. They couldn't really put that in the movie because Carlos would have heard it too and then we would have known where he was (and that Laura wasn't just hearing things) and then there would have been no movie. But still...that bothered me.
Overall, I think it's a great movie because I think that it can be interpreted in many ways. My friend is dead set on the ghosts all being in Laura's head. The person who put the game together was Simon. She somehow knew in her head that he was down there. My friend suggested that she had seen the doorknob before and knew where it went, but wasn't able to recall it until she was in full hallucination (full hallucination being when she was playing un, dos, tres, toca la pared and the ghosts led her to the basement). I guess that could be right (but I still think the ghosts were real!)
Thanks for your response aquariusgirl.
The only thing that bothers me about this film is the fact that Simon doesn't scream when he's in the basement. What child wouldn't start crying if he got trapped in a basement? What child wouldn't be screaming, "Mommy! Mommy!" I do realize that if that had happened, Laura would have heard him and they would have found him. They couldn't really put that in the movie because Carlos would have heard it too and then we would have known where he was (and that Laura wasn't just hearing things) and then there would have been no movie. But still...that bothered me.I've seen this raised elsewhere and it occurred to me then that old houses have much thicker walls and are better insulated against noise. From what I recall the only time Laura was close to the cellar door was on the day Simon had gone missing, when she inadvertently knocked the metal bars that blocked his exit. He must have been screaming later when we hear his vigorous banging. But the banging was muffled somewhat and not located by her or Carlos, so the sound carried rather than being clear in where it came from. I suspect they couldn't hear him through the walls.
Moments of perfection,share
idle in the sunshine
I rented the DVD which has the extras and there are scenes that were cut out which explains some of the discrepancies. One of the scenes is of Simon overhearing the conversation between Benigna and Laura, so that explains how he knew he was adopted, being HIV positive and about the folder, which Laura locks in the drawer.
Another scene which was removed has Laura as a little girl being told by the orphanage kids about Tomas and she starts snooping through the house and finds him in the hallway with the mask on. But the Director/writers decided to exclude it as people will wonder why adult Laura didn't remember Tomas.
All the noises and doors slamming was in Laura's imagination except on the night she was awoken by banging noises and tried to search for Simon in the wheelchair.
That's thirty minutes away. I'll be there in ten.
I agree. I didn't see any evidence that Laura was out of her mind, nor would I hope to believe that this is another "out of her mind" film. The "touching" ending wouldn't be so touching if all the substance was made into "schizophrenic" slosh. The problem, I think, is that schizophrenia has become a staple in the Horror genre, and a very simple way out (and into the class of "clever psychological horror").
Not to say I didn't love "A Tale of Two Sisters..."
I liked Laura too much to accept her as psychotic. She was a compelling character and her behaviour and emotional responses seemed credible/real. As you say the ending becomes somewhat muted, particularly where the husband finds the necklace and cross, the window opens and he smiles in recognition.
I find it more magical, enchanting and mystical even to have the film a ghost story. It's funny that The Changeling, a very similar film but where the protagonist is male, does not invite a psychological interpretation of his mental state even though it could be interpreted that way too.
I'm a fountain of bloodshare
In the shape of a girl
Also, that nightmare hood he was wearing would really muffle his voice.
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"Friends! Help! A guinea pig tricked me!"
Couldn't he just take it off ?
shareWell I always thought Simon was a little bit stupid so maybe that's why for dear life he didn't thought about taking it off and screaming loudly to get attention. Because really, if they can hear the banging then it wouldn't be that hard to hear the screaming.
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