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1

Online chapter

In this case study we will cover:

the background to the Spanish Civil War and why it provides the

setting for The Devil’s Backbone

the themes and issues raised within the fi lm

the ways in which people, places and events are represented

the style and genre of the fi lm

possible creative responses to the fi lm.

2 Case study: The Devil’s Backbone

1 Promotional poster for The Devil’s Backbone

Country: Spain and Mexico

Spanish/Mexican title: El Espinazo del

Diablo

Production year: 2001

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Certifi cate: 15

Main awards:

Gérardmer Film Festival, 2002 –

International Critics Award, Youth

Jury Grand Prize, Special Jury Prize

Other well-known fi lms by del Toro:

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

Hellboy (2004)

Blade II (2002)

Mimic (1997)

Cronos (1993)

Section C New horizons

2

Section C, Case study: The Devil’s Backbone

2 Jaime sees the bomb

approaching

Synopsis

The Devil’s Backbone follows the experience of Carlos, a young boy left at an orphanage

by his teacher during the Spanish Civil War. The orphanage is run by left-wing

sympathisers who are hiding stolen gold to help the cause of the socialist freedom

fi ghters. Carlos is haunted by the ghost of a young boy (Santi) killed in the orphanage

who seeks to warn the boys of impending danger and exact revenge for his murder.

AO3: Demonstrate planning, research and presentational skills

The Devil’s Backbone is a fi lm made by a Mexican director in Mexico but it is set in Spain

during the Spanish Civil War.

In small groups fi nd out as many facts as you can about the Spanish Civil War.

Why do you think this fi lm was made in Mexico?

Activity 1

Introduction

What is a ghost? A terrible moment condemned to repeat itself over and over... a

sentiment suspended in time.

This is the opening voice-over for The Devil’s Backbone. But The Devil’s Backbone is

not purely a fi lm about ghosts. Although the supernatural world is important to the

narrative and the director, it is also there to deal with other issues, much more real and

disturbing, that happened during the Spanish Civil War.

3


The director of The Devil’s Backbone, Guillermo del Toro,

was brought up in Mexico. He made fi lms from childhood,

although he started his career in the fi lm industry working on

special eff ects and make-up. He even had his own company in

this area for 15 years.

Although he has specialised in horror fi lms, The Devil’s

Backbone and his 2006 fi lm, Pan’s Labyrinth, explore the

fantasy world of children alongside brutal acts of the Spanish

Civil War. The fantasy world does not off er safety for the

children; both central characters of these fi lms have a quest, a

mystery to solve, which runs alongside the terrible events unfolding around them in

reality.

3 Santi in The Devil’s

Backbone

AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how fi lms communicate

Watch the fi nal scene of Pan’s Labyrinth and compare it to the fi nal scene of The

Devil’s Backbone.

What similarities and diff erences of style do you notice? (Consider especially mise-

en-scène and colour.)

Activity 2

Del Toro often portrays realistic and quite disturbing images of brutality in his fi lms. He

says:

…pain should not be sought, but by the same token it should never be avoided,

because there is a lesson in facing adversity.

Do you think this idea comes across in The Devil’s Backbone? (This would make a good

class discussion topic.)

Del Toro has seen many violent acts in his home country of Mexico where there are

many social problems. Though his fi lms may not be about Mexico or these social issues,

it is evident that del Toro’s cultural background aff ects his work.

Sometimes directors and writers create stories about other events and fantasy worlds

that parallel some of the issues and problems that they see immediately in front of

them. This is referred to as an allegory. Although The Devil’s Backbone is not an allegory

for Mexican society, looking at the Spanish Civil War may be a way for del Toro to deal

with some of the current issues he sees in contemporary society too.

Key termsAllegory: a story that

carries messages through

symbolic images and

ideas

AO2: Explore, respond to and refl ect on a range of fi lms and topics

Carry out some research into positive and negative sides of Mexican society and

culture. Create a collage using images and text.

Does your collage have any visual similarities to The Devil’s Backbone?

Activity 3

4



AO4: Use creative and technical skills to construct fi lm products

In pairs, look for some reviews of The Devil’s Backbone on the Internet.

Make notes on the opinions discussed in these reviews and then feed back to the

rest of the class.

Collate this information and discuss what you think are the themes and messages

in the fi lm.

Activity 4

4 Themes and issues

in The Devil’s

Backbone

Themes and issues

As with all the fi lms in this close study section, themes and issues are dealt with

through the experience of one young person, in this case, Carlos.

There are various issues in

this fi lm and the use of the

ghost of Santi, the bomb,

and Carlos’s connection to

these things, could be read in

diff erent ways by audiences.

The narrative could be meant

to echo the confl ict within

Spain. The old Spain stands

for tradition and religious

superstition, the new Spain

for modern thinking and

democracy.

For example, the teacher,

Casares, off ers rational

explanations for events rather

than rely on superstition. He suggests a ghost is defi ned as a ‘displaced or repressed

version of the real’. This refl ects the beliefs of the socialists fi ghting for democracy in the

Spanish Civil War, who advocated rational discussion and explanation for events rather

than a belief in the supernatural.

However, Casares himself becomes a ghost at the end of the fi lm and seems to be

watching over the boys as they leave the orphanage, so ghosts and the spiritual world

seem to be a positive infl uence on events and defi nitely important to the narrative.

Also, considering the director’s position on the supernatural world, it is unlikely that

he would dismiss Santi as a fi gment of Carlos’s imagination – so as a member of the

audience it is up to you how you read this fi lm. You may consider it to be simply an

atmospheric ghost story, but there are other readings you should consider in your

studies.

Conflict

Tradition and

religious

superstition

Oppression/

bullying

Spirit world and

its relationship

with the real world

Spanish Civil

War

5


5 A 1937 pro-union

Spanish poster for the

UGT (Union General de

Trabajadores)

Spanish Civil WarThe reason the boys are in the orphanage is because of

the Spanish Civil War, a huge event in Spanish history; but

also an event that had repercussions around the whole

world. Events and issues relating to the Civil War unfold

in a parallel narrative to the story of Santi, and the politics

and events are intrinsically linked to the events within

the orphanage. It is important, therefore, to know a little

of the history of Spain in relation to this war to gain a full

understanding of The Devil’s Backbone.

Before the 1930s most working class people in Spain

worked the land and they were very poor. When

they started to move to the cities due to increased

industrialisation, their lives didn’t improve.

The country was run by King Alfonso from 1902. He was

a domineering ruler who was against any reforms that

would have helped the ordinary working people in his

country. He was constantly in confl ict with the Spanish

Parliament so in 1923 Miguel Primo de Rivera staged a

military coup; he said that he would only stay in power for

90 days and then give power back to the people.

However, de Rivera decided to keep his power and did

little to help reform Spanish society. After he was forced to resign, Alfonso agreed to

democratic elections, which had not been allowed for 60 years. This led to the ‘second

republic’. Understandably, change was not easy but eventually a coalition of left-wing

parties was formed and in 1936 they became the Popular Front party. They wanted to

implement many social reforms but there were still right-wing political activists, the

church and the army who did not want Spain to change. Five months after the Popular

Front were democratically elected, General Francisco Franco led the army to overthrow

the government.

The Civil War that followed tore Spain apart, with many using it as a way of settling

old scores. Throughout the world, the powerful and the ordinary were taking sides.

Ordinary people who believed in socialist principles from Britain, the USA and other

countries went to fi ght alongside the Spanish republicans; and Mussolini and Hitler

tried to maintain the power of fascism by off ering Franco arms and money.

About 500,000 people were killed in the three years of the Civil War, not only through

battle but through executions and even starvation. Though the republicans fought as

hard as they could, without support from other governments, they were no match for

Franco and three years of war were followed by 40 years of fascist dictatorship.

Throughout this time, fi lm-makers were not allowed to make fi lms criticising the

government so they would hide messages by using metaphor and allegory. Maybe

this is another reason del Toro uses such poetic imagery in The Devil’s Backbone; in

homage to the fi lm-makers of that era.

Key termsSocialism: a theory

or system of social

organisation where

ownership and control of

the means of production

and distribution, of all land

and fi nancial power, are

shared among a whole

community

Fascism: a system of

government where a

dictator (one person with

all the power) controls

society by suppressing

opposition, often using

violence and censorship to

help maintain this control

Metaphor: a fi gure of

speech where one thing

is described by the use of

another, e.g. ‘all the world’s

a stage’

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6 Carlos at the orphanage

Representation

We see the narrative of The Devil’s Backbone unfold through the eyes of the main

character Carlos, who is a young boy. Carlos connects with the spiritual world; ghosts

and even objects (a bomb) help him. At the beginning of the fi lm Carlos is frightened

and lonely. He is bullied by the

other boys, especially Jaime; but his

courage and persistence not only

means he makes friends but that he

also faces up to Santi and helps to

save a lot of the boys.

Though the narrative has the

Spanish Civil War as the backdrop to

the fi lm, it is not hugely focused on it

throughout. It could be that diff erent

characters and events represent

elements of the war; and the story

of the ghost symbolises aspects

of Spanish society. Certainly the

characters that run the orphanage

are socialist sympathisers and the

audience is placed in a sympathetic

position to their cause. Jacinto seems

to represent the fascists, as he bullies

the children, killed Santi and is using

his position to try to steal the gold

Miranda is hiding for the socialists.

Carlos plays an important role in helping the boys at the orphanage survive the events

he foresees. He is the protagonist of the narrative and is the one that solves the mystery

of Santi.

For example, the boys and Jacinto’s girlfriend, Conchita, stand up for themselves in this

fi lm. With the help of Santi, the boys at the orphanage prevent Jacinto from escaping

with the gold he has been planning to steal for quite some time. And Conchita refuses

to help her lover, even though this means he will kill her.

Jacinto’s oppression could symbolise the oppression of the Spanish people and how

they must fi ght for their freedom.

In this possible reading of the story, it is Jacinto that represents fascism and Santi could

therefore represent the conscience, the voice in our heads telling us what we know is

true but don’t want to hear – in this case, telling people they must not accept tyranny

any more. With this reading Carlos would represent the socialists fi ghting for freedom,

even though the odds are against them.

7



In the extras on the DVD, some of the actors and the director are asked what they

think a ghost is. Some of their replies are:

– an obsession

– an emotion

– the conscience.

What kind of ghost is Santi?

In a class discussion, consider your beliefs and opinions about what a ghost might

be.

Find images of ghosts and create a collage – how do diff erent cultures see ghosts

and spirits?

Activity 5

Style and genre

By beginning with the question ‘What is a ghost?’, the audience is immediately

encouraged to question the narrative of The Devil’s Backbone. This is not simply a story

about ghosts. Del Toro explores ideas of what a ghost might be and off ers diff erent

options to the audience. This suggests the director is expecting you to make up your

own mind – what do you believe? The narrator’s language is not factual, it is poetic and

mysterious. The images cut together add to the enigma – who is the dead boy? What

happened to him?

It is often established in horror fi lms that there is a ghost that will do terrible things and

the characters have to stop it. However, The Devil’s Backbone doesn’t start by showing us

a ghost – it shows us a death; so we assume this is the boy who will become the ghost.

We can also assume his mysterious death is the puzzle that will be solved.

There is also the image of the bomb dropping from the plane, which we see from a

bird’s-eye view shot. (Notice how the door to the cellar becomes the door of the plane,

linking the two images together.) This adds another aspect to the story – telling the

audience that the bomb is signifi cant and the narrative may also be linked to war due

to our generic knowledge of this kind of shot: we associate it with a war fi lm. This may

also work against the idea that this is simply a horror fi lm about the supernatural. We

associate the war fi lm genre with the real world so the opening gives us clues to the

dual aspect of the fi lm’s narrative.

The bomb in the courtyard of the orphanage is a constant reminder of the war that

surrounds the boys, the reason they are orphaned. Although a huge symbol of violence,

the bomb has a ‘heart’. It ticks, which instils fear in the audience that it could go off and

kill them all; but the boys look on it quite fondly. It even helps Carlos fi nd Santi.

So Santi and the bomb provide a mysterious edge to the very real aspects of the civil

war presented in the narrative of this fi lm. But the visual style and use of atmospheric

music and sound eff ects also adds to this enigmatic fi lm.

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AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how fi lms communicate

AO2: Explore, respond to and refl ect on a range of fi lms and topics

Exam preparation

Key scene: Chapter 7

In Chapter 7, Carlos investigates the sounds he hears coming from the cellar.

How is this scene typical of a sequence you might expect to see in a horror fi lm?

Identify the diff erent sounds you can hear. Is the sound important in creating the

eerie atmosphere?

We see Santi, but Carlos doesn’t – why do you think this is?

Key scene: Chapter 14

This is where Carlos sees Santi for the fi rst time. He has been seeking him out but when

he does see him he is frightened and runs away. The sequence is typical of the horror

genre in the way it creates fear and excitement in the audience.

Analyse the way this is achieved through the use of camera and editing in particular.


AO4: Use creative and technical skills to construct fi lm products

Exam preparation

Here is a fi lm poster used to market The Devil’s Backbone.

Design an alternative for a British teenage audience which

still maintains a style suitable for the fi lm.

Activity 6

Activity 7

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Additional resources

Other fi lms include:

Pan’s Labyrinth directed by Guillermo del Toro

The Orphanage (2007) produced by Guillermo del Toro

Pan’s Labyrinth: DVD extras and excellent interview with del Toro

Websites include:

www.imdb.com: a portal into a number of excellent reviews

The Devil’s Backbone: Wikipedia

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