`OPEN YOUR EYES' SHOWS MUCH TALENT.Byline: Glenn Whipp Daily News Film Critic Everything we see in the riveting Spanish psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the wide-ranging thriller genre. However, this genre often incorporates elements from the mystery genre in addition to the typical traits of the thriller genre. ``Open Your Eyes'' comes through the eyes of a man locked inside a mental institution. His name is Cesar (Eduardo Noriega People named Eduardo Noriega include:
tr.v. im·pris·oned, im·pris·on·ing, im·pris·ons To put in or as if in prison; confine. [Middle English emprisonen, from Old French emprisoner : en- because he killed somebody. Cesar doesn't remember committing the crime, but then his memory has been playing tricks on him. He doesn't know what to believe. Nor will you. Writer-director Alejandro Amenabar has fashioned a marvelously complex movie that moves in and out of reality with such verve and intelligence that it keeps its audience guessing right up until the provocative conclusion. An inherent sense of logic makes ``Open Your Eyes'' a rarity among movies that deal with alternate points of view. This is one head trip you can actually buy into, unlike, say, the spectacularly filmed mumbo-jumbo of ``The Matrix.'' ``Open Your Eyes'' opens with Cesar waking up (or is he?), getting dressed and heading out to the streets of Madrid, which are incongruously devoid of life. (Or are they?) Cesar then wakes up and realizes he has been dreaming. (Maybe.) Cesar is one of those spectacular specimens who gets by in life on his pretty face and facile charm. At a party celebrating his 25th birthday, he meets Sofia (Penelope Cruz) and believes he may finally have met a woman worthy of his attention. Problem is, Cesar's current girlfriend, Nuria (Najwa Nimri Najwa Nimri (born February 14 1972 in Pamplona, Spain) is a Spanish actress and singer. Her mother is Basque and her father is Jordanian; his name is Karam Nimri. Her name means ecstasy in Arabic. When she was a child she moved to Bilbao and now lives in Madrid. ), is still in the picture and inclined toward obsessive behavior. Nuria begs Cesar for another chance, appealing to his considerable ego. Cesar relents and hops in her car, which she proceeds to drive into a brick wall, killing herself and horribly disfiguring Cesar's face. That's just the setup. The film initially appears to be heading into familiar territory, with Cesar coping with his deformities and wounded pride. But then fantasy and reality begin to blend seamlessly together. Cesar wonders why he's in a psychiatric prison, accused of murder. He also doesn't understand why he remembers having his face cosmetically repaired and, yet, here he is, wearing a rubber mask while talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to a prison psychiatrist (Chete Lera). Another stumper: the various recollections of a cryogenics cryogenics: see low-temperature physics. cryogenics Study and use of low-temperature phenomena. The cryogenic temperature range is from −238°F (−150°C) to absolute zero. At low temperatures, matter has unusual properties. infomercial and its elderly actor spokesman. Are all these things "These Things" is an EP by She Wants Revenge, released in 2005 by Perfect Kiss, a subsidiary of Geffen Records. Music Video The music video stars Shirley Manson, lead singer of the band Garbage. Track Listing 1. "These Things [Radio Edit]" - 3:17 2. part of a dream, or are they real, or has Cesar, as the psychiatrist suspects, gone completely mad? Amenabar, whose previous film ``Tesis'' won seven Goya Awards (the Spanish equivalent of the Oscar), successfully keeps his audience thinking, constantly upending expectations and appearances in surprising and fantastic ways. Amenabar doesn't use special effects special effects, in motion pictures, cinematographic techniques that create illusions in the audience's minds as well as the illusions created using these techniques. as a crutch crutch (kruch) a staff, ordinarily extending from the armpit to the ground, with a support for the hand and usually also for the arm or axilla; used to support the body in walking. crutch n. ; he's a sufficiently skilled filmmaker to be able to employ camera angles and lighting to convey Cesar's shifting reality. It's superb work, as is Hans Burmann's haunting cinematography cinematography: see motion picture photography. cinematography Art and technology of motion-picture photography. It involves the composition of a scene, lighting of the set and actors, choice of cameras, camera angle, and integration of special . The performances are quite good, too. Noriega, playing Cesar in three different mental states - ladies' man, fearful paranoid and deformed victim - displays an impressive range, and the beautiful Cruz (``The Hi-Lo Country,'' ``Belle Epoque'') continues to reveal an emotional expressiveness that labels her as an actress to watch. ``Open Your Eyes'' was a box-office sensation in Spain two years ago. Tom Cruise's production company, Cruise-Wagner, has bought the English-language rights to the movie, but don't wait until Hollywood remakes it. (That's rarely a good idea, anyway.) This is one movie that demands immediate attention. THE FACTS The film: ``Open Your Eyes'' (Spanish with English subtitles) (R; strong sexuality, language and some violence). The stars: Eduardo Noriega and Penelope Cruz. Behind the scenes: Directed by Alejandro Amenabar. Screenplay by Amenabar and Mateo Gil Mateo Gil Rodríguez (b. 23 September, 1972, Las Palmas, Spain) is a Spanish screenplay writer and director. Filmography Writer
Running time: One hour, 54 minutes. Playing: Laemmle's Music Hall in Beverly Hills; Landmark's NuWilshire in Santa Monica. Our rating: Three and one half stars. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Penelope Cruz and Eduardo Noriega co-star in ``Open Your Eyes. |
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