MovieChat Forums > El orfanato (2008) Discussion > Benigna Didn't Kill the Orphans, and the...

Benigna Didn't Kill the Orphans, and they didn't kill Tomas

posted 12 years ago by celebrei
15 replies | jump to latest

I just watched the movie and it became apparent to me that Tomas and the Orphans were killed by the head and staff of the orphanage, seeing in the super8 films how they mistreated Tomas, they must have reached the point that they were fed up of taking care of him and just killed him by having him drowned in that cave, the orphanage staff must have put the blame on the orphans instead, telling the police that it was their prank that caused Tomas' demise,

of course the children knew that this was false, and probably thought that this hidden boy was killed by the staff themselves, it was left uncertain whether the orphans really did find out about Tomas when he was alive or that his existence was only revealed to them when he was killed, now the staff knowing that the orphans had suspicions on who killed Tomas, they killed the orphans themselves by poisoning them, leaving no traces of their murder, this was convenient because logic dictates that it would have been the vindictive mother Benigna who would have those orphans killed in the presumption that it was them who lead Tomas to his death, but I don't buy that, they killed the orphans themselves to erase any trace to their crimes, if the staff were truly innocent I doubt they would have let those orphans not receive a proper burial, I seriously doubt Benigna could have placed their bodies there, even if we assume she did kill them, there's no way the staff of the orphanage would not cater to the corpses of those orphans, and there is no way for Benigna to keep the staff in the dark and had those bodies tucked away in that small cottage, no, I think the staff and management put those bodies there themselves, assuming that the police had verified the murder of the orphans, the orphanage staff would have the responsibility to bury those children, which they did not, probably because they didn't want to pay the expenses of burying them, Benigna probably knew where those children were buried, and went to that shed to possibly take the remains and give them a proper burial, seeing the orphans to be much of the same victims as his son was.

[–] bts1984 12 years ago

If that's true, then how come they don't explain that on Wikipedia? Usually, when I have doubts about movies, I see their story on Wikipedia. Sometimes it doesn't work, but many times I get to understand many things I couldn't understand otherwise. Another good way of doing that is to ask for people's opinions in the IMDb boards dedicated to the movies in question.

Let's see if someone can give an answer to this question. However, the movie clearly states that it was Benigna who poisoned the children.

If she went to the shed that night to give the bodies a proper burial, then why did she wait all those years to do that? Why didn't she just do it shortly after the children died? If she went to the shed that night, then she knew where they were.

«I was on the fire escape! I saw ya!»

[–] lacyrobinson99 12 years ago

Yes, we all know Wikipedia is the best place to find information. Whaaaaa???

[–] thekarxmarl 12 years ago

I don't usually comment on imdb boards, but well, I like your explanation there. I think it fits more to the story.

There were five kids, five dead bodies hidden in the cottage. I don't think young Benigna could have been able to pull the stunt alone. It must have been the staffs.

And since Benigna was a young woman at that time, I assume she then waited long enough until the other staff members died, so she could go back safely to check the bodies out.

Well maybe I'm wrong but to each of their own, this piece of story just fits my fantasy of the movie. :)

[–] aamotc 12 years ago

They weren't so much "bodies hidden in a shed" as they were "ashes contained in a furnace." There wasn't any real physical trace left behind outside of that actual furnace.

And I thought Benigna said the orphans had been adopted, instead of admitting they were killed. I haven't seen it for about a year and can't recall if it was stated or if it was just the conclusion I came to.

Also, it's far easier to believe that Beninga killed the orphans, instead of that the staff killed them and framed Beninga, who knew about the murders but couldn't prove her innocence - even though she knew where the remains were hidden. Simplest answer is that Beninga did it, not the unmentioned caretakers.

I do think that Beninga was in the shed to remove the childrens' remains though. Now that somebody was living there, there was the possibility they would be discovered.

---
"It's a locomotive that runs on us!"

[–] Chuck_Zombie 12 years ago

This actually makes pretty damn good sense. If Benigna had did it by herself, the rest of the staff surely would have noticed (like you said).

"Wait a second, I feel like something's missing? Let's see, what could be missing from this unpopulated orphanage? Hmmmm. Oh well."

[–] celebrei 12 years ago

Indeed, and it seems out of character for those orphans to bully someone, they looked like really nice kids in the ending.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] grynai 11 years ago

Of course they looked like nice kids. If you recall, the kids had no plans to kill or hurt Tomas in any way. They were seven years old. They thought of a silly game and they were playing, maybe teasing him a bit, they had no idea Tomas would drown. I have read in the news some stories where kids of similar age: 1) poured gasoline all over their younger brother and set him on fire while playing, 2) hid in a chest while playing hide-and-seek, accidentally locked themselves inside and suffocated, 3) pushed their younger sibling out of the window etc. These are all real stories. I don't think these kids had any intentions to harm their siblings or friends, they just played and did not foresee the outcome.

[–] Frantastic_Miss_Fox 10 years ago

I agree that I think the kids in the film didn't mean for him to drown as I think they clearly thought it was just a funny game. I also agree with the second example you gave about the kid accidentally locking himself in the trunk, that had no intention of actually hurting someone behind it, but I very strongly disagree with your other two examples!

'poured gasoline all over their younger brother and set him on fire while playing'

and

'pushed their younger sibling out of the window'

Those both sound very much intentional! I'm sorry but even kids know that things like that will seriously hurt someone, especially setting someone on fire! Also, how did that kid manage to get hold of gasoline and something to light his brother on fire with?! Where were the adults/parents?! No, unfortunately there are some people who are just born messed up (or who are made to be) and them being a kid is no excuse in those circumstances!

'You people. If there isn't a movie about it, it's not worth knowing, is it?'

[–] wrlord2001 11 years ago

Wow. You must have a very big ass, to pull something like this out of it.

[–] selim-12 11 years ago

Interesting theory but in my opinion it doesn't clarify the point where Benigna would come to the small house in the middle of the night where the bodies where hidden. I thought that she had killed and hid them, and was afraid that the new owners would find out so she thought about getting rid of them. Why else should she go there?

[–] gmoxie 9 years ago

I think it makes sense that she is concerned about new owners finding the ashes/jaw bones etc so she comes in the middle of the night and is almost caught. What confused me is why she pretended to be a social worker and since she was not employed as a social worker (wasn't that reported in the movie?), how did she get Simon's file with private information about his adoption? What did she hope to gain by coming during the day to meet Laura?

[–] Btrixkiddo35 8 years ago

This is weird, I mean how come the disappearance of the children was never reported. If Beninga had done it don't you think the other staff members would say "hey 5 kids are sick or have been poisoned???" But no one inquires about anything??? I know they were orphans but that was odd...

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] 10 years ago

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