Open Your Eyes (1997)
"Abre los ojos" (original title)

A very handsome man finds the love of his life, but he suffers an accident and needs to have his face rebuilt by surgery after it is severely disfigured.

Director:

Alejandro Amenábar

Writers:

Alejandro Amenábar, Mateo Gil

Stars:

Eduardo Noriega, Penélope Cruz, Chete Lera

5 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eduardo Noriega	...	César
Penélope Cruz	...	Sofía
Chete Lera	...	Antonio
Fele Martínez	...	Pelayo
Najwa Nimri	...	Nuria
Gérard Barray	...	Duvernois
Jorge de Juan	...	Encargado L.E.
Miguel Palenzuela	...	Commisario
Pedro Miguel Martínez	...	Médico Jefe
Ion Gabella	...	Recluso paranoico
Joserra Cadiñanos	...	Guardia
Tristán Ulloa	...	Camarero
Pepe Navarro	...	Presentador T.V.
Jaro	...	Médico 1
Walter Prieto	...	Médico 2

Storyline

A once handsome playboy, César finds himself in a mental facility and he can't remember why. All he can remember is meeting the love of his life for one day, and then getting into a car accident which left his face horribly disfigured. But the pain of becoming physically undesirable may help him to find the truth.

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Plot Keywords:

love | self pity | immortality | suffering | tied up | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong sexuality, language and some violence

Details

Country:

Spain France Italy

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

19 December 1997 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Open Your Eyes

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

ESP 370,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$38,289 (USA) (16 April 1999)

Gross:

$368,234 (USA) (18 June 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canal+ España, Las Producciones del Escorpión, Les Films Alain Sarde

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Penélope Cruz also stars in Vanilla Sky (2001), Cameron Crowe's remake of this film, playing the same character, Sofia.

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Goofs

As César runs on an "empty" street at the beginning of the film, three people can be seen. One, a man in a blue shirt, standing in the bottom right corner of the frame, and two other people on a balcony above him.

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Quotes

Nuria: Do you believe in god?

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Connections

Referenced in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: Make Up

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Soundtracks

Glamour
Composed by A. López, J.A. López and J. Díaz
Performed by Amphetamine Discharge

User Reviews

Very impressive; if you can, PLEASE see this before Vanilla Sky!

"Vanilla Sky" turned out to be a moderate success and scored great reviews by most critics, and I liked it myself. But if you compare it to this film, there's almost nothing different! But of course, it's all Cameron Crowe's fault and not the fault of the director of this movie. Luckily, I haven't seen "VS" in a while, so certain surprises in the plot still intrigued me. And I was intrigued throughout the film, I think even moreso than with "VS."

Tom Cruise is a fine actor, and I have nothing against him. But I always appreciate seeing unknown actors (at least they're unknown to me; I don't live in Spain, so they might be superstars there) give fine performances. The actor who plays the main character in this film as just as effective as Cruise. He is an extremely attractive man and knows how to express a plethora of emotions. I've never been a big fan of Penelope Cruz's work in the states, because her English still isn't great and that clearly shows in the mangled expression of her dialogue. But in her native language she shows great talent. And since I find her much more attractive than I used to, I'm more appealed by her in the looks department. Plus, as a man I must reveal she has a great nude scene in the film.

One element of the plot that I don't think Crowe's "VS" expressed as well was the jealousy between the handsome main character and his best friend. I was able to connect with that portion of the story, since I have a best friend like the main character who's charming girls left and right, while I (the average guy) have virtually no appeal to the ladies. I know what it's like to possess that sort of envy, and so do the average guys all around who see handsome guys doing the same things we do, but get more favorable results just on account of their good looks. The film also expresses the theme that no matter how many times most attractive men claim their looks are of no importance to them, if their looks were one day to be stolen from them, they'd lose the will to live.

I'm sure if I saw "Vanilla Sky" after this movie, I'd enjoy it a lot less. This is sheer proof that the general American public is too lazy to read subtitles. Because if you were watching the DVD of "VS" and switched the language channels from English to Spanish, it's the same damn movie! And now I feel sorry for the director of this movie, since he's the genius behind this genuinely original story, but Cameron Crowe comes along and takes all the credit. I am not one of those grouches who hates remakes, but if you're going to remake a film, put your own spin on it! Don't take all the original ideas and conduct it with different actors! And wait a couple decades for God's sake! "Open Your Eyes" was released in 1997 and "VS" only four years later. So unless you're illiterate, please see "Open Your Eyes" before you even consider "Vanilla Sky"!

My score: 8 (out of 10)