¨Childish Games¨ is a psychological and interesting thriller about a strange kid who causes distresses , scary events and unhappiness . This is a highly suspenseful and cerebral mystery , filled with intrigue , terror , twists and turns . This exciting as well as shady picture blends thrills , chills , and tense sequences especially in its final part , in a unexpected denouement , near the end . It deals with a middle-class , childless marriage formed by Daniel (Juan Diego Botto) and Laura (Barbara Lennie) , both teachers , but nothing is what it seems like in the beginning . As it tells the tale of a happy couple , as the duo is confronted by an unusual incident when Mario , a childhood friend of Daniel's , shows up acting rarely and wanting them to meet his daughter , Julia (Mágica Pérez) . Daniel arranges to get rid of him , but the next day to be aware of Mario's suicide . As Mario commits suicide and Laura watches it on the front page . Julia , who is now an orphan , ends up being taken in temporarily by the marriage , despite Daniel's discomfort at not only the strange encounter with Mario but also the extreme enthusiasm of Laura at playing the role of mummy . The daughter has an exceptional intelligence and also has an attitude that worries the upsetting Daniel . Julia is a quirky little girl , he has a rare character , fussy behaviors and strange obsessions . As a sinister and weird past haunts Mario's life reflected on Julia . Tension enhances as Laura attempts to help Julia regain the will to live and Daniel begins to feel threatened by some of Julia's activities , as well as the apparent awakening of records of a horrifying past involving Mario that he thought he had put behind him . Because of the obsession for the past , disturbing Daniel attempts to forget a creepy secret at whatever cost . Then , the events go wrong until a tragic and surprising final.
It is a peculiar story of love/hatred , difficult family relationship , lies and spooky secrets with an intrigue behind , including focused performances by the main characters . This is an agreeable film about a wealthy Spanish family with an eerie and dark secret emerging , as they adopt a very troubled child , it results in disturbing scenes , chills , ghastly deeds and upsetting final . Hitchcock-style psychological thriller , being surprisingly good , compellingly realized and including enjoyable musical score jammed with a sinister and mysterious atmosphere . The original as well as attractive idea is overspread throughout the movie , but not totally satisfactory , including conventional pitfalls . ¨Dictado¨ is a strong thriller because it works as a terror fable about a thunderous past and sticking to a risky self chosen life . Also , the twists in the plot are clever enough to capture our attention and even if the story-line doesn't restrain itself from being a little bit predictable -but never boring- , is the ever present feeling of something terrible coming along that makes this movie one above the rest of many others and well worth seeing . The main cast is frankly fine . The protagonist of the film , Daniel , is well played by actor Juan Diego Botto , thanks to this role he got very good reviews . Nice acting by Juan Diego Botto as a worried father who faces off a terrible truth about his adopted daughter ; Botto is a young but veteran actor who has got a lot of successes such as "Martin Hache" , "Roma", ¨The dancer upstairs¨ , ¨Fiesta Del Chivo¨ , ¨Silencio En La Nieve¨ and many others . He is rightly accompanied by the attractive Barbarie Lennie who gives a perfect acting , as usual . This is also the first work of the young actress Mágica Pérez and special mention for Nora Navas in a brief but essential role . The picture belongs to sub-genre about ¨Bad children¨ whose main representation results to be the classic ¨Bad seed¨ , following ¨The Good Son¨ and Spanish films as ¨Island of damned¨ and recent "The Mudboy" along with ¨Hijo De Cain¨ with José Coronado .
The picture is pretty well , although sometimes stagy and packs some turns ; however , being entertaining for continuous suspense . Colorful cinematography is finely photographed by cameraman Guillermo Granillo , being filmed on location and mostly interiors . Suspenseful and stirring musical score by Zacarias De La Riva and Joan Valent . The motion picture was professionally directed by Antonio Chavarrias , though with no originality and results to be slow-moving . The film has been nominated Golden Berlin Bear Antonio Chavarrías . Antonio Chavarrías was born in 1956 in Barcelona, Catalonia , location in which he often shoots his films . He is a good writer and director , known for Volverás (2002), Dictado (2012) , Las Vidas De Celia (2006) , Susanna (1996) . Furthermore , he has produced several TV films and pictures such as Radiaciones , Carne Neón , Elisa K , La Isla Interior , Aro Tolbukhin , El Espejo , La Caja , among others . The yarn will appeal to suspense enthusiasts and Juan Diego Botto/Barbara Lennie fans . Rating : Good , better than average . It's well worth watching and contains some really thrilling scenes and disturbing images .
It is a peculiar story of love/hatred , difficult family relationship , lies and spooky secrets with an intrigue behind , including focused performances by the main characters . This is an agreeable film about a wealthy Spanish family with an eerie and dark secret emerging , as they adopt a very troubled child , it results in disturbing scenes , chills , ghastly deeds and upsetting final . Hitchcock-style psychological thriller , being surprisingly good , compellingly realized and including enjoyable musical score jammed with a sinister and mysterious atmosphere . The original as well as attractive idea is overspread throughout the movie , but not totally satisfactory , including conventional pitfalls . ¨Dictado¨ is a strong thriller because it works as a terror fable about a thunderous past and sticking to a risky self chosen life . Also , the twists in the plot are clever enough to capture our attention and even if the story-line doesn't restrain itself from being a little bit predictable -but never boring- , is the ever present feeling of something terrible coming along that makes this movie one above the rest of many others and well worth seeing . The main cast is frankly fine . The protagonist of the film , Daniel , is well played by actor Juan Diego Botto , thanks to this role he got very good reviews . Nice acting by Juan Diego Botto as a worried father who faces off a terrible truth about his adopted daughter ; Botto is a young but veteran actor who has got a lot of successes such as "Martin Hache" , "Roma", ¨The dancer upstairs¨ , ¨Fiesta Del Chivo¨ , ¨Silencio En La Nieve¨ and many others . He is rightly accompanied by the attractive Barbarie Lennie who gives a perfect acting , as usual . This is also the first work of the young actress Mágica Pérez and special mention for Nora Navas in a brief but essential role . The picture belongs to sub-genre about ¨Bad children¨ whose main representation results to be the classic ¨Bad seed¨ , following ¨The Good Son¨ and Spanish films as ¨Island of damned¨ and recent "The Mudboy" along with ¨Hijo De Cain¨ with José Coronado .
The picture is pretty well , although sometimes stagy and packs some turns ; however , being entertaining for continuous suspense . Colorful cinematography is finely photographed by cameraman Guillermo Granillo , being filmed on location and mostly interiors . Suspenseful and stirring musical score by Zacarias De La Riva and Joan Valent . The motion picture was professionally directed by Antonio Chavarrias , though with no originality and results to be slow-moving . The film has been nominated Golden Berlin Bear Antonio Chavarrías . Antonio Chavarrías was born in 1956 in Barcelona, Catalonia , location in which he often shoots his films . He is a good writer and director , known for Volverás (2002), Dictado (2012) , Las Vidas De Celia (2006) , Susanna (1996) . Furthermore , he has produced several TV films and pictures such as Radiaciones , Carne Neón , Elisa K , La Isla Interior , Aro Tolbukhin , El Espejo , La Caja , among others . The yarn will appeal to suspense enthusiasts and Juan Diego Botto/Barbara Lennie fans . Rating : Good , better than average . It's well worth watching and contains some really thrilling scenes and disturbing images .