Spanish produced (but English Language) film, Set against the immediate aftermath of The Great War. Grace Stewart (Nicole Kidmen) lives in her mansion home with her two photosensitive children. Her hiring of three new servants co-insides with a series of strange events, leading Grace to believe that there are intruders in her home.
To the ghost-story literate audience, it rapidly becomes apparent that said intruders (the titular "others") are ghosts. Frustratingly to the viewer, Grace is not ghost story literate; she's a good catholic girl who has no time for the notion of ghosts, and she takes entirely too long to even suspect it.
Taking a long time is the only real weakness but, when it works, also it's greatest strength. While ideas are occasionally lingered on just a little to long, for the most part the story is expertly given time to breath, allowing an oppressive atmosphere to become the movie's most important character.
Great acting all 'round, some beautiful cinematography, and an intelligent script bring this imaginative ghost story to life. To say more than that would be to risk spoiling it for you. Don't read on until you've seen it.
Still here? Seen it? Good.
Then of course, there's the twist. As with The Sixth Sense, as with any good twist, it's the ending that elevates a good movie into a great one, and as with any good twist, there's no 'cheating', no deliberate misleads in the bulk of the story, and no clue that there is going to be a twist; and as with The Sixth Sense, we discover that we've been watching a ghost story from the point of view of the ghosts.
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