The Eyes of My Mother (2016)

A young, lonely woman is consumed by her deepest and darkest desires after tragedy strikes her quiet country life.

Director:

Nicolas Pesce

Writer:

Nicolas Pesce

Stars:

Kika Magalhães, Will Brill, Olivia Bond

5 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Diana Agostini	...	Mother
Olivia Bond	...	Young Francisca
Will Brill	...	Charlie
Joey Curtis-Green	...	Antonio
Flora Diaz	...	Lucy
Kika Magalhães	...	Francisca (as Kika Magalhaes)
Paul Nazak	...	Father
Clara Wong	...	Kimiko

Storyline

In their secluded farmhouse, a mother, formerly a surgeon in Portugal, teaches her daughter, Francisca, to understand anatomy and be unfazed by death. One afternoon, a mysterious visitor shatters the idyll of Francisca's family life, deeply traumatizing the young girl, but also awakening unique curiosities. Though she clings to her increasingly reticent father, Francisca's loneliness and scarred nature converge years later when her longing to connect with the world around her takes on a dark form.

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Plot Keywords:

black and white | stabbed in the back | dead body | death of father | death of mother | 

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Genres:

Drama | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing violent content and behavior, and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese

Release Date:

2 December 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Os Olhos da Minha Mãe

Filming Locations:

Cooperstown, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,908, 2 December 2016, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$25,981, 23 December 2016

Company Credits

Production Co:

Borderline Presents,Tandem Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The music that Francisca and her father dance to is "Naufrágio" in the voice of Amália Rodrigues. This type of Portuguese traditional music is called "fado", which translates to "sad destiny", and it's commonly used to express the feeling of losing someone dear.

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Goofs

[All goofs for this title are spoilers.]

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Quotes

Mother: Loneliness can do strange things to the mind.

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Connections

Features House on Haunted Hill (1959)

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Soundtracks

Tumbling Lights
Performed by The Acid
Written by Adam Freeland, Ry Cuming and Steve Nalepa
Courtesy of Mute Records, by arrangement with Zync Music Group and BMG US

User Reviews

Excruciating

This is not a brilliant movie. In my opinion, it's not even a good movie. But it achieves what it supposedly set out to do, and that was to portray life from the point of view of a lonely psychopath. And that portrayal is absolutely excruciating.

Having grown up on an isolated farm, loneliness is always Fransisca's first and foremost problem, and we the audience are made to feel that in agonizing detail. The movie feels slow, the few other characters have short screen time and are usually mute, and the movie is in drab black and white.

Being a psychopath, Fransisca feels absolutely nothing for anybody else, and has no qualms about what she does to others to fulfill her own desires. Once again, we the audience, are made to suffer 72 minutes of this abominable character, and wonder if she is so loathed does she have any sense of self-loathing too?

Does Fransisca represent a psychopath? Probably. Is the role played well by the lead actress? Yes. Is the movie worth watching? I would say NO, not unless you have to reference it for a term paper in Psychology 101 or something.

P.S. what is up with the title of this film? It has no bearing on the movie, believe me. Just because she misses Mom the most, and her Mom was an eye surgeon, doesn't mean you have to force 'Mother' and 'Eyes' in the title.