Open Your Eyes (Abre los ojos)

Wednesday 12 March at 7.30pm

Alejandro Amenbar | Spain/France/Italy | 1997 | 114 mins | M low level violence & low level sex scenes

Amenbar’s dizzying Spanish sci-fi psycho-thriller blurs the lines between reality and illusion and keeps its audience guessing with a series of mind-bending twists.

“You might think seeing is believing, but tell that to Amenábar, writer/director of this dazzling thriller, which toys with our perceptions to exquisitely torturous effect. Initially, it appears that playboy César (Eduardo Noriega) has it all: money, looks, girls. One night at a party, however, eager to escape jealous Nuria (Najwa Nimri), he strikes up a conversation with Sofía (Penelope Cruz), and soon realises he’s in love… Amenábar adds layers of information overload, altering the picture from noir-ish poser to latter-day Beauty and the Beast, and eventually to head spinning sci-fi mode. What holds us through the revelations are the sheer chutzpah with which Amenábar and his cast deliver them, the emotional imperative of the material and the fascinating way it touches on concepts of interior/exterior worth, personal responsibility and phenomenology. This is so smart, mischievous and stylish, you’ll instantly want to see it again.”—Trevor Johnston, Time Out