Open Your Eyes (Abre Los Ojos)

Starring: Eduardo Noriega (II), Penelope Cruz
Directed by: Alejandro Amenabar
Rating: R
Genre: Thriller, Foreign
1998

Times Seen:
Tim: 1


Summary:A rich playboy (Eduardo Noriega) falls in love with a beautiful woman (Penelope Cruz), however, his life changes dramatically after a murder/suicide attempt by a jilted ex-lover leaves him horribly disfigured. As he sits in a mental hosptial, his lawyer tries desperately to uncover the truth behind the whole situation. It seems that after the disfiguration, the playboy's reality began to fall apart. Nothing is as it seems, and a race to find the truth begins.

Review:

Tim: I was very, very hesitant to watch this movie. Yes, it is a foreign film, which normally aren't my cup of tea. However, I was more worried about it because I absolutely hated the 2001 American remake, Vanilla Sky. Strangely enough, Penelope Cruz reprises her same role in that film, but has bigger star power with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. Vanilla Sky is on my list of the worst movies of all time. Needless to say, I approached this film cautiously.

I am glad to say that Open Your Eyes (Abre Los Ojos) is a much better film than the remake. It is not a superb movie, but definitely better than Vanilla Sky. I thought long and hard trying to uncover the reason why this earlier version is better, since they are essentially the same movie. However, with some thought, the two films begin to seem more and more unlike each other. Cameron Crowe directs the American version and I believe he jumbles the story too much. The end of Open Your Eyes explains the movie much better than in Crowe's version. I also like this film better because it works hard to achieve a thrilling story and conclusion, while the American version relies more on star power to bring it "success."

For a Spanish film, this movie is spectacular. I normally am pretty snobby about the superiority of American filmmaking, but I have to admit this is a pretty decent film. In the world of Spanish filmmaking, I'd venture to say this film is outstanding. However, in the whole scope of movies, it isn't too spectacular.

In the end, I encourage you to take Open Your Eyes for what it is- a good psychological thriller that makes for an amazing foreign film, and a pretty decent film in the bigger picture. Hey, if you see it for no other reason, its a lot better than Vanilla Sky.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Vanilla Sky, El Mariachi