User Reviews

Childish Games, frequently promoted as a horror film, patterns itself much closer to Hitchcock thrillers such as Vertigo and Vertigo imitations such as Brian De Palma's Obsession. It's a simmering slow-burn of a movie, which unfortunately boils over into a climax, that just doesn't sit well contextually, with much of the prior narrative.

Writer/Producer/Director Antonio Chavarrías crafts a compelling, compact story around teachers Daniel and Laura, who clearly have a very close relationship in spite of Laura experiencing gynaecological issues causing pregnancy to be seemingly impossible and Daniel burying a traumatic incident from his childhood into his sub-conscious. The onscreen chemistry between actors Juan Diego Botto and Barbarie Lennie is so believably attractive and close, that it really does cast some doubt on later occurring events, that are precipitated by them assuming temporary guardianship of a young girl. Julia is the daughter of Mario, a childhood friend of Daniel's, who has suicided in what is most definitely the film's most confronting scene.

Amongst several issues arising mid-film, it's impossible to believe that Laura would not strongly deny the suggestion made to her, that she suddenly cares more for Julia, than her long-term partner Daniel. Also difficult to accept despite him having a few nightmares and unwanted flashbacks, is Daniel's overnight descent into Shining - like madness. And what's with the overtly contrived, repetitive indecisions between the couple over the extension of their guardianship?

Nevertheless, Childish Games is a finely crafted piece, with admirable acting from the leads and I liked the way director Chavarrías avoided the temptation to insert periodic cheap thrills. But the denouement is quite unsatisfying and almost feels like that, created for another film. It needed to be more subtle and dare I say it, more intelligently handled.

Still some will no doubt find this Spanish offering worth watching.

¨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 .

I liked Dictado! The story is very good (Sergi Belbel is one of the most talented writers/directors in Catalonia), the acting is too, specially Juan Diego Boto and the kid. I find it specially scary when the monster is a child, because they are capable of huge cruelty (in fiction?!) and pretend they are so innocent and harmless. I like how it dwells in the supernatural, and specially how it portrays the masculine fear to be robbed of their wife's love by a son/daughter. This is not a very common theme in cinema, maybe because it is not politically correct, but very realistic: father jealousy towards their own kids. How children are seen as strange intruders disrupting home harmony, transforming their mothers (wives) into obsessive, alienated monsters. The movie is well ploted, dialogs are crisp and realistic, and it got my attention from beginning to end. Good film.

At first I wasn't sure about this movie. I have a problem with movies that require you to read the subtitles but this turned out to be a very good movie despite that.

I honestly kept thinking this story was going in a different direction, so it really caught me by surprise once you figured out what was really happening.

The flashbacks can get confusing sometimes, but it was very well woven into the storyline.

I won't say anything more about the story. You really should go into this one knowing nothing about it.

A very good psychological thriller all the way to the end.

http://popgoesthereview.com/2012/08/30/childish-games-dictado/ Hey guys,this is my critic review of Childish Games. I really liked it, hope you will take time to read my review! In the review I talk about how sins of the past come back to haunt Daniel, the main actor played by Juan Diego Botto. The actors all did a superb job, and made this an atmospheric thriller that most will enjoy. However, I do not see it scaring everyone. I really enjoyed the acting of the young actors, and its all of theirs first IMDb credit and therefore, their first big screen debut. In particular I liked how great Magica Perez did in her on screen debut. I would love to see more films from Spain and the Spanish world. I am setting out right now to go get The Skin I Live In. Anyways the link will provide you with the full review I have of this movie :)