Open Your Eyes (1997 film)

Open Your Eyes () is a 1997 Spanish-language science fiction psychological thriller film directed and co-scored by Alejandro Amenábar, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mateo Gil. It stars Eduardo Noriega, Penélope Cruz, Chete Lera, Fele Martínez, and Najwa Nimri. The film follows a young man who begins to question reality following a car accident that disfigures his face.

Released on 19 December 1997 in Spain, the film was a financial success, grossing $9 million worldwide against a budget of $2.9 million. It received critical acclaim, with its intersecting planes of dream and reality prompting comparisons to Calderón de la Barca's 1635 play Life Is a Dream. An American remake, Vanilla Sky, was released in 2001. Directed by Cameron Crowe, it stars Tom Cruise and Penélope Cruz, with Cruz reprising her role of Sofía.

Plot A young man awakens to a woman's voice telling him to open his eyes. He drives into a deserted city center before reawakening.

Accused of murder, the man, César, recounts his story in jail to forensic psychologist Antonio while wearing a prosthetic mask. Through flashbacks, César is revealed to have lived a wealthy playboy lifestyle in Madrid, supported by an inheritance from his late parents. At his birthday party, he flirts with Sofía, a guest of his best friend Pelayo, and spends the night at her apartment, where they fall in love.

The following morning, César's obsessive former lover Nuria stalks him and offers a ride home. During the drive, she confronts him about his indifference toward her before deliberately driving the car off a hill, killing herself and leaving César with severe facial disfigurement beyond cosmetic repair. Despondent and withdrawn, César begins wearing the mask. At a club, César meets with a distant Sofía, who is accompanied by Pelayo. Distraught at the thought of them together, César becomes intoxicated and passes out on the street.

The next morning, César awakens to find an apologetic Sofía beside him. The two restart their relationship, and surgeons miraculously develop a procedure that restores César's face. However, he begins experiencing disturbing changes in his perception. He sees Sofía mysteriously transform into Nuria and restrains her, though police tell him that the woman he attacked was Sofía. César then encounters a man at a bar who informs him that he is dreaming, demonstrated by the entire bar falling silent at César's command. Seeking answers, César breaks into Sofía's apartment and discovers that Nuria has replaced her in photographs. Sofía appears and forgives him, but while they have sex, she transforms into Nuria. Terrified, César smothers her to death.

Through hypnosis, César recovers suppressed memories and recurring visions of the letters "L.E." He discovers that they refer to Life Extension, a cryonics company he previously saw advertised on television. César and Antonio make a supervised visit to its headquarters, where they learn that the company combines cryonic preservation with "artificial perception", allowing clients to continue living in a simulated dream through a computer program while awaiting revival. Realizing that he is a client, César flees the building and demands to be awakened. Outside, he hits a police officer and takes his gun before shooting another. He advances toward other officers, prompting them to open fire as Antonio attempts to shield him.

César and Antonio awaken unharmed in the deserted plaza and ascend to a rooftop, where they meet Duvernois, the man César previously encountered at the bar. Duvernois reveals that the simulation began after César passed out in the street; in reality, he awoke alone, fell into a deep depression, signed a contract with Life Extension, and committed suicide by drug overdose. His body was subsequently preserved and his mind placed in a dream beginning from his last happy memory, but recollections of his disfigurement caused a software malfunction that turned the dream into a nightmare.

Duvernois gives César a choice: return to a corrected simulation of his life in 1997 or be revived in 2145, when medical advances can restore his real face. To awaken, he must leap from the roof. Antonio urges César not to jump, accusing Duvernois of deceiving him. Duvernois counters by dismissing Antonio as artificial intelligence lacking real convictions, to which the latter insists emotionally that he is a real, sentient person with a family. Sofía appears and kisses César, while Pelayo watches from a distance. César asks what will happen to his friends if he jumps, but Duvernois maintains that they are simulated.

At the edge of the building, César takes a final look at Sofía, Pelayo, and Antonio, before leaping from the roof. The screen turns black, and a woman's voice tells him to open his eyes.

Cast Eduardo Noriega as César, a wealthy and confident young man who is successful with women Penélope Cruz as Sofía, an aspiring actress and César's love interest Chete Lera as Antonio, a forensic psychologist assigned to César while he is in jail Fele Martínez as Pelayo, César's best friend, who struggles with dating Najwa Nimri as Nuria, César's former sexual partner, who remains infatuated with him Gérard Barray as Duvernois, head of the Life Extension company Jorge de Juan as Encargado ('manager'), a Life Extension employee who explains the company's methods as Comisario ('commissioner'), a policeman who tells César that he struck Sofía Tristán Ulloa as Camarero ('server'), a bartender who fraternizes with César at the club

Production Filming took place in Madrid in 1996. For the opening sequence depicting César in a deserted Gran Vía, the production received permission from the city government to close the street to traffic during the early morning hours of 15 August 1996, a public holiday. The Life Extension headquarters building from which César leaps in the final scene is the Torre Picasso.

Release The film was theatrically released in Spain on 19 December 1997.

Reception Box office In Spain, the film was a financial success, grossing 1.06 billion pesetas (€6.4 million) against a budget of 370 million pesetas (€2.2 million). It was the third highest-grossing Spanish film of 1998, behind Torrente, the Dumb Arm of the Law, and The Girl of Your Dreams. Internationally, Open Your Eyes grossed over $700,000, including $370,720 in the United States and Canada.. Retrieved 6 July 2016.

Critical reception On Rotten Tomatoes, Open Your Eyes holds an approval rating of 87% based on reviews from 45 critics, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The site's critical consensus states: "Director Alejandro Amenábar tackles some heady issues with finesse and clarity in Open Your Eyes, a gripping exploration of existentialism and the human spirit". James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film three and a half stars out of four, opining that films "of this intelligence, audacity, and complexity come along so rarely that it's mandatory to cry out their arrival" and that "those who see it will not quickly forget the experience". Rob Blackwelder of SplicedWire gave the film four stars out of four, calling it "a jaw-dropping psychological thriller" that's "beautifully orchestrated".

Richard Scheib of Moria Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review also gave Open Your Eyes four stars out of four, writing that it is "quite a remarkable film". Holly E. Ordway of DVD Active wrote "I don't give out “perfect 10” ratings lightly, but Open Your Eyes earns one by all accounts". By contrast, Aaron Beierle of DVD Talk gave the film a more mixed review, writing that he "found most of Open Your Eyes interesting", but adding that "there's something about the picture that kept me from being completely involved".

In 2002, Open Your Eyes was ranked No. 84 on the Top 100 Sci-Fi List by the Online Film Critics Society.Top 100 Sci-Fi List, Online Film Critics Society Despite the film's critical reception, Amenábar stated in a 2016 retrospective that he considered it his worst film, explaining that he had written it as a teenager "who did not know anything about life".

Soundtrack

Vol. #1 "Glamour" - Amphetamine Discharge (6:03) "Risingson (Otherside Remix)" - Massive Attack (5:29) "El detonador EMX-3" - Chucho (5:17) "How do" - Sneaker Pimps (5:04) "Sick of you" - Onion (4:28) "T-sebo" - Side Effects (5:44) "Flying away" - Smoke City (3:50) "Arrecife" - Los Coronas (3:11) "Yo mismo" - If (3:37) "Tremble (goes the night)" - The Walkabouts (5:02) "El detonador remix" – Chucho / Side Effects (5:01)

Vol. #2 (Instrumental) "Abre los ojos" (2:28) "Sofía" (1:12) "Soñar es una mierda" (1:04) "La operación" (1:33) "¿Dónde está Sofía?" (0:54) "El parque" (3:08) "Hipnosis" (2:20) "Quítate la careta" (2:56) "Eres mi mejor amigo" (2:41) "La única explicación" (2:05) "Quiero verte" (6:38) "Esa sonrisa" (0:53) "Deja vu" (1:51) "Excarcelación" (4:28) "La vida" (1:46) "La azotea" (5:21) "Créditos finales" (3:31)

Source: .

Awards and nominations

| align = "center" rowspan = "10" | 1999 || rowspan = "10" | 13th Goya Awards || colspan = "2" | Best Film || || rowspan = "10" | |- | Best Director || Alejandro Amenábar || |- | Best Original Screenplay || Alejandro Amenábar y Mateo Gil || |- | Best Actor || Eduardo Noriega || |- | Best Editing || María Elena Sáinz de Rozas || |- | Best Art Direction || Wolfgang Burmann || |- | Best Production Supervision || Emiliano Otegui || |- | Best Makeup and Hairstyles || Colin Arthur, Paca Almenara, Sylvie Imbert || |- | Best Sound || Daniel Goldstein, Patrick Ghislain, Ricardo Steinberg || |- | Best Special Effects || Reyes Abades, Alberto Esteban, Aurelio Sánchez ||

Remake

In 1998, following the film's critical success, American actor Tom Cruise optioned the remake rights for Open Your Eyes through his company, Cruise/Wagner Productions. Directed by Cameron Crowe and released in 2001 under the title Vanilla Sky, the film stars Cruise in the lead role as David Aames, Jason Lee as his best friend, Brian Shelby, Penélope Cruz reprising her role as Sofia, Cameron Diaz as Julianna Gianni, the woman who disfigures David, and Kurt Russell as psychologist Curtis McCabe. Relocating the story from Madrid to New York City, Vanilla Sky closely follows the plot of Open Your Eyes but makes several alterations.

Open Your Eyes (1997 film)

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