El secreto de Amila
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Detailed parental analysis
Olentzero eta Amilaren sekretua is a Basque fantasy film for children, blending imaginative adventure with hospital reality in an atmosphere that is both warm and slightly unsettling. The story follows hospitalised children whose world shifts into the marvellous when a magical creature and a supernatural threat enter their daily lives. The film is aimed primarily at school-age children, with a marked pedagogical sensitivity around illness, friendship and resilience.
Social Themes
Serious illness lies at the heart of the narrative: several characters are hospitalised with serious conditions, including a particularly fragile bone disease and leukaemia. The film does not look away from hospital reality, with its care sessions, long periods of hospitalisation and therapies. This frontal yet compassionate presence of illness constitutes the film's primary pedagogical strength: it normalises the daily lives of sick children and invites young viewers to develop concrete empathy towards their peers. This is a subject that can raise sharp questions in a healthy child, and it deserves an open conversation after viewing.
Underlying Values
The film builds its message around friendship between children weakened by illness, solidarity and the capacity of imagination to transform a difficult reality. Fantasy is not an irresponsible escape but a tool for resilience, presented as an authentic strength. The bravery of sick children is valued without ever falling into artificial heroisation: a character with very fragile bones acts with mischief and boldness, which conveys a lively and non-pitying image of physical disability.
Violence
The antagonist of the narrative is a malevolent and vengeful being who abducts a child and seeks to seize a magical object by force. These elements introduce genuine narrative tension, without graphic violence. The register remains that of a children's fantasy tale, where the threat is embodied but contained within familiar codes. Sensitive or younger children may experience some fear during sequences involving the antagonist or the abduction.
Strengths
The film has the rare merit of placing sick children at the centre of a fantasy adventure without reducing them to their medical condition. By anchoring the marvellous in a paediatric hospital, it offers young viewers a tool for identification and understanding of difference that works through emotion rather than discourse. The Basque cultural dimension, carried by the folkloric figure of Olentzero, gives the film a singular narrative identity and transmits a living imaginative heritage. The short duration, around one hour, is well calibrated for the intended audience.
Age recommendation and discussion points
The film is suitable from age 6 onwards, with parental accompaniment recommended for younger children in the face of fantasy tension sequences and the medical realities evoked. Two angles of discussion naturally emerge after viewing: how does one feel when ill and far from home, and how can one be a friend to someone going through something difficult?
Synopsis
AMILA is a 9 year old girl who was born with health problems, and lately has dizziness and headache, so it has to go to the hospital. With his friends Fede and Mai, receives therapy sessions due to illness of the bones of glass. The days of hospitalization are long and annoying, but with the help of all the friends always becomes more pleasant and even fun.
About this title
- Format
- Feature film
- Year
- 2015
- Runtime
- 1h 5m
- Countries
- Argentina, Spain
- Original language
- ES
- Directed by
- Gorka Vázquez
- Main cast
- Roberto Alfaro
- Studios
- Baleuko, Draftoon, Talape
Content barometer
- Violence1/5Mild
- Fear2/5A few scenes
- Sexuality0/5None
- Language0/5None
- Narrative complexity0/5Simple
- Adult themes0/5None