'The Orphanage' Opening Sequence

Last lesson we looked at the opening sequence of 'The Orphanage' a Spanish horror film by J.A Bayona, we focused on the sound, setting, genre, storyline and characters of this scene.

Characters:
The Lone Character (Laura)
-Young
-Female
-Innocent
-Costume is old fashioned (1940s/1950s)

Older Women (The Caretaker)
-Appears to be hiding her emotions
-Does not show face
-Seems mysterious

Setting/Location:
-Spanish countryside, 1940s/1950s.
-The summery outside setting was juxtaposed to the dark mysterious setting inside the orphanage portraying it as evil and not safe
-The garden was surrounded by trees and shadows making it feel closed off from the outside world
-In the garden there was a strange looking scarecrow foreshadowing the future

Sound:
At first there is diegetic sounds and sound effects of birds singing, insects and children playing to set the scene (a typical summers day in the country side). After this a non-diegetic cheerful high pitched piano comes in, however this slowly saddens as we see the caretaker answer the phone. This again changes when the caretaker walks down the steps and it becomes more mysterious and louder.

Genre:
Psychological horror film

Storyline:
A young girl (Laura) playing "Uno, Dos, Tres, Toca la Pared" [One, Two, Three, Knock on the Wall] with her friends, at first she appears to be alone, the camera is far away showing a wide shot and making her look vulnerable, the camera gets closer and shows a close up to Laura. It shows a silhouette of her friend reaching out to her from behind, however because the camera is so close the audience cannot see she is a child and it looks as if someone is trying to grab Laura. The children then chase one another in the field with Laura laughing and playing. The children run and play by a strange looking scarecrow which I believe foreshadows the Tomás' sack mask (which appears later on in the film).  We then see the older women (The caretaker of the orphanage) receiving a call, she confirms that Laura is going to be adopted, although she has not told Laura yet. She opens the doors to the garden/field and walks down the steps. She mumbles "Laura, you are going to miss your friends" to herself.

(See snap shots below)