Film Review: Open Your Eyes (Abre Los Ojos)
Andrew Roy · June 25 2017 · 02:00PM
Few films are as thought provoking as the 1997 Spanish film Open Your Eyes. This complex film easily rivals the likes of Blade Runner and Inception for making you think. With twists in the plot all the way through, multiple watchings are required to truly understand what is going on and to see the moments of foreshadowing. Which is what I personally love in a film.
This films tells the story of a handsome young man in Madrid, César, through a series of flashbacks. At the start of the film he is living the dream; he is rich, has a really close friend and there are girls chasing him. At his birthday party, he finds the love of his life. However, after his face is disfigured by an accident, his life takes a turn for the worse. To tell much more would be spoiling the film, but that is partly why it is so good.
The two main actors, Eduardo Noriega, who plays César, and Penélope Cruz, who plays Sofia, do an excellent job in this film. The haunting orchestral soundtrack really adds to the film at dramatic points too. It can also be said that the film feels quite gritty and down to earth, making it more vivid. A number of themes are explored in this film; love, dreams, nostalgia and superficialness. No matter which angle you look at it, there is a message to take away here.
I would strongly recommend seeing this before its remake Vanilla Sky featuring Penélope Cruz as Sofia again and Tom Cruise. The remake brings the story into an American setting with New York but all of the European subtlety that makes the original so good is sadly lost here to the over-the-top nature of Hollywood. After watching both I would say the original leaves a much greater impression.
All in all, this is a beautiful film despite being quite dark in places. I don’t know of many international films but I would say this is a film definitely not to be missed. On my first viewing I was literally blown away at the end of it. With the superb cinematography throughout and so much left to interpretation this film could be considered as a work of art. My only hope is that we see more gems like this in the future.
Few films are as thought provoking as the 1997 Spanish film Open Your Eyes. This complex film easily rivals the likes of Blade Runner and Inception for making you think. With twists in the plot all the way through, multiple watchings are required to truly understand what is going on and to see the moments of foreshadowing. Which is what I personally love in a film.
This films tells the story of a handsome young man in Madrid, César, through a series of flashbacks. At the start of the film he is living the dream; he is rich, has a really close friend and there are girls chasing him. At his birthday party, he finds the love of his life. However, after his face is disfigured by an accident, his life takes a turn for the worse. To tell much more would be spoiling the film, but that is partly why it is so good.
The two main actors, Eduardo Noriega, who plays César, and Penélope Cruz, who plays Sofia, do an excellent job in this film. The haunting orchestral soundtrack really adds to the film at dramatic points too. It can also be said that the film feels quite gritty and down to earth, making it more vivid. A number of themes are explored in this film; love, dreams, nostalgia and superficialness. No matter which angle you look at it, there is a message to take away here.
I would strongly recommend seeing this before its remake Vanilla Sky featuring Penélope Cruz as Sofia again and Tom Cruise. The remake brings the story into an American setting with New York but all of the European subtlety that makes the original so good is sadly lost here to the over-the-top nature of Hollywood. After watching both I would say the original leaves a much greater impression.
All in all, this is a beautiful film despite being quite dark in places. I don’t know of many international films but I would say this is a film definitely not to be missed. On my first viewing I was literally blown away at the end of it. With the superb cinematography throughout and so much left to interpretation this film could be considered as a work of art. My only hope is that we see more gems like this in the future.
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