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Eduardo Noriega, Penelope Cruz, Chete Lera, Fele Martínez, Najwa Nimri ... see more see more... , Gerard Barray

The line between dreams and reality become increasingly blurred after a womanizing playboy is nearly killed by a jilted lover in Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar's masterful sophomore effort Abre L... read more read more...os Ojos (Open Your Eyes). It would seem as if Cesar (Eduardo Noriega) has it all. Handsome, charming, and with money to burn, he can get any girl he wants, and usually does so on a nightly basis. Following a birthday party in which he chats up Sofia (Penelope Cruz), the date of his best friend Pelayo (Fele Martinez), Cesar is plunged headfirst into a nightmare world when jealous former lover Nuria (Najwa Nimri) swallows a handful of pills and sends her car careening into a cement wall with the terrified playboy as her hapless passenger. With his formerly strikingly handsome face now twisted into a hideous mass of scarred flesh, Cesar's ugly emotions are now externalized for all to see. Pining for a plastic-surgery miracle to return him to his former glory so that he can seek out Sofia and take a chance at real love, he is pleasantly surprised when the doctors make a breakthrough and Sofia accepts him back into her life. Although all seems perfect for the moment, the formerly soulless player finds that this is only the beginning of his increasingly disturbing journey. Why is Sofia changing appearance and turning into Nuria periodically? And why won't the police and his psychiatrist believe Cesar's desperate attempts to rationalize a world that is growing increasingly surreal? Could it have something to do with a doctor Cesar has seen on television who keeps appearing and attempting to help him out of his nightmare? Peeling away at the layers of his subconscious, Cesar begins to realize that reality is no more than a state of mind, and that in order to get his life back he may be forced to take unthinkable measures. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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85% liked it

36,314 ratings

Critics

85% liked it

46 critics

R, 1 hr. 57 min.

Directed by: Alejandro Amenábar

Release Date: April 16, 1999

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DVD Release Date: December 18, 2001

Stats: 1,872 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,872)

  • fb1216165431
    September 10, 2011
    fb1216165431
    Open Your Eyes is a mischievous and confusing fantasy playing with reality. Leading and puzzling, The Hollywood remake Vanilla Sky in 2001 can only dream on imitating the subtle approach to the idea in the original Open Your Eyes. An eye-opener.
  • solesoulsorrow
    May 25, 2011
    solesoulsorrow
    This is definately a film one should watch with the American version. Seeing Cruz act in the same script as a different character is very rare. Being able to view the same scenes done with different cinematography is also interesting. The movie is strange and sorrowful in any lan... read moreguage.
  • matertenebraum
    June 15, 2010
    matertenebraum
    Abre los ojos......abre los ojos.... open your eyes.....open your eyes.... This is how the movie begins...

    I saw Vanilla sky first so agree that that may have spoilt somewhat the power of Abre Los Ojos, which I believe is a more fly-on-the-wall insight into the film compared to ... read moreVanilla Sky.

    However, as with any foreign language film, I feel it is almost impossible to entirely "get" the sentiment/meaning of the film unless you can understand/hear it in the original language. I can speak Spanish pretty well but I was unable to pick up any particular memorable quotes, without the aid of the subtitles. (and subtitles can be very loosely translated). For example, I'm not sure "f**k buddy" and "the sweet ain't as sweet without the sour" from Vanilla sky would truly represent the intended meaning if translated to Spanish. Perfect cast for this role. And then there is Penelope Cruz. I knew that she is a great actress...but now I know that she is brilliant. She is so beautiful in this movie you want to die lol And she did a excellent job too. She played fantastic.

    Overall, I thought Abre los Ojos was a more gritty and realistic version of the story. Contrastingly, I enjoyed Vanilla Sky because of the pop culture references and the soundtrack and the cheesy Hollywood moments.
  • 76Majikat
    January 3, 2009
    76Majikat
    I hadn't realised that Vanilla Sky had been a remake when I'd watched it, but shortly into this film, it became very familiar.

    Interestingly Peneleope Cruz plays the same role in both versions of the film and the similarities do not end there, as pretty much the whole film is ... read morelike for like, just on a smaller scaled budget.

    I always find a remake interesting when it originates from a different language.
  • aliceinpunderland
    July 13, 2008
    aliceinpunderland
    It's difficult to rate the original now without comparing it to the remake. It deserves credit for the wildly fascinating and mind-blowing concept. However I didn't get a full sense of the characters and their motivations for hurting each other, falling in love, or succumbing t... read moreo vanity. The score is too blatantly "thriller" and detracted from the eerie, ethereal quality of dreams and nightmares.
  • 366weirdmovies
    April 28, 2008
    366weirdmovies
    After a handsome playboy suffers a disfiguring accident, he finds it increasingly difficult to distibguish reality from his nightmares. Well-scripted mindbender has emotional depth and carries the viewer along to a conclusion that successfully ties up loose ends. In Spanish wit... read moreh subtitles.
  • drago25
    February 10, 2008
    drago25
    I'm glad that it's been several years since I saw Vanilla Sky (the American remake), and that it wasn't especially memorable, because having forgotten most of the plot I could enjoy the original without having to compare them (as such I won't compare them in this review, either).... read more The beauty of this film is that, along with the excellent script, it's made exceptionally well in that: although certain points of the plot do get somewhat complicated, the director never allows the details to overpower the essence of the story, or to convolute the beauty of what is on screen. Indeed, though there is science involved and it's somewhat of a mystery film, it remains very ethereal and exists on a higher plane than the typical thriller/mystery fare. The film stars Eduardo Noriega as a very dashing, wealthy man who, after finding the love of his love (in the form of Penelope Cruz, who played the same role in the remake), is involved in a car crash and has his face, which for him is his livelihood, largely destroyed. The film raises a ton of questions in its running, but has the good sense to answer them to some degree, but also to leave the film very much up to interpretation. Such ambiguousness really permeates the entire film and gives it an existential twinge. As I said, the film is often exquisitely beautiful, and the soundtrack matches its aesthetic very well. The acting from both leads (and several of the supporting actors) is top-notch, though I had the same problem I've had with every film starring Penelope Cruz: she's just so damned beautiful I'm often in danger of being distracted from the rest of the film completely! My own fault, though. So this is a great film, and since I can barely remember anything about Vanilla Sky, I think it's pretty safe to say the original is very much superior.
  • puffchunk
    November 19, 2007
    puffchunk
    Sceen for sceen Vanilla Sky took from this movie. It was an EXACT copy, and even used the same actress (Penelope). I therefore must give this one better praise because I HATE tome cruise.
  • jennifxu
    November 10, 2007
    jennifxu
    I don't really like scifi, and I'm pretty positive Vanilla Sky, its English counterpart, would be a complete failure, but for its genre, this is a pretty darn good movie. It explores the more emotional themes in the beginning and makes me genuinely care about the characters, whil... read moree taking on a Lynch-esque twist in the second half ala "bending reality" which is kind of creepy, kind of cool, and kind of confusing.
  • ebs90
    May 12, 2007
    ebs90
    BEFORE Cameron Crowe and Tom Cruise butchered this movie turning it into pop-culture-infused-sentimental-nonsense as "Vanilla Sky", this movie was good. It still is. Three reasons to see it: a) The Hitchcockian atmosphere within the scifi plot b) Eduardo Noriega's performance, ye... read moreah he reacts to things like normal people would c) Penelope Cruz doesnt act like the girl out of someone's wet dreams. Her character is actually believable.

View All Open Your Eyes (Abre los ojos) (Permanent Midnight) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum
June 8, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

Even if the script (written by the director and Mateo Gil) and direction are patchy, the obsessive theme is gripping. Full Review

Jeff Millar
July 21, 2005
Jeff Millar, Houston Chronicle

If you're the type who doesn't mind jigsaw puzzles unassembling themselves as you assemble them, if you enjoy enigmas and don't need explanations, the film just might work for you. Full Review

Liam Lacey
March 19, 2002
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

For adventurous filmgoers, though, this Spanish import offers something off the beaten path and a chance to play the coffee-shop game: Could This Screenplay Be Saved? Full Review

Peter Stack
January 1, 2000
Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle

The cumbersome, fantastical plot twists of its last 40 minutes render the whole thing unfathomable. Full Review

Gary Dauphin
January 1, 2000
Gary Dauphin, Village Voice

Amenabar may drop the ball with a surprise happy ending, but the real shock is that when Cesar finally opens his eyes, you feel he's earned it. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

While it will not get the kind of wide release necessary to make a big splash in this country, those who see it will not quickly forget the experience. Full Review

Lawrence Van Gelder
January 1, 2000
Lawrence Van Gelder, New York Times

A film with enough intellectual meat on its stylish bones to give more adventurous moviegoers something to chew on afterward. Full Review

Blake French
August 2, 2009
Blake French, Filmcritic.com

If Stanley Kubrick and David Lynch had collaborated on a project, the result might have been something like Open Your Eyes." Full Review

Michael Dequina
December 29, 2006
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com

The visually stunning product is no less absorbing and haunting, not to mention surprisingly moving. Full Review

January 26, 2006
Time Out

This is so smart, mischievous and stylish, you'll instantly want to see it again. Full Review

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