The Devil's Backbone (2001)

Spain, 1939. With the country ravaged by civil war and General Francisco Franco's Nationalists, Carlos, an abandoned orphan, ends up in a small Republican orphanage. Now, there is no turning back: with his freedom-fighter father killed for the cause, the 12-year-old boy's fate lies in the hands of the institution's unwilling administrator, Carmen. But these are trying times; bread and food are precious commodities. And then, ominous whispers filled the school's labyrinthine corridors. As the innocent newcomer navigates a cruel reality while coping with bullies, disquieting rumours of otherworldly visitations chill the bone to the marrow. Sometimes, the truth is stranger than fiction--wolves and lambs can die together. After all, blood never forgets. And in the waning months of the Spanish Civil War, revenge may even come from the grave.—Nick Riganas