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Written by Administrator
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Sunday, 02 January 2005 15:05 |
"Open Your Eyes"
 Movie
Abre Los Ojos (Open Your Eyes when translated into English) is the
movie that inspired Cameron Crowe's remake - Vanilla Sky. If you've
seen one movie, you've essentially seen the other. Cesar (Eduardo
Noriega) is a rich guy that has it all. One day, his friend Pelayo
(Fele Martinez) brings an attractive date Sofia (Penelope Cruz playing
the same role as she does in Vanilla Sky) over to a party at Cesar's
house. Cesar is instantly attracted to Sofia and uses her to help him
avoid his possessive ex Nuria (Najwa Nimri), who also showed up at the
party.
Cesar has been a playboy his whole life, but much to the disappointment
of Pelayo, he think he may have actually found true love for the first
time in Sofia. One night, after spending a night at Sofia's house for
the first time, he finds Nuria waiting outside of Sofia's apartment.
For whatever reason, he decides to get a ride home from her.
While driving, Nuria tweaks out and drives the car off a cliff killing
herself and severely mangling the face of Cesar. Doctors are unable to
fix his face, so he hides behind an emotionless plastic mask. Like my
Vanilla Sky review, I won't ruin what happens next, but be sure you pay
attention. It's the kind of movie you have to watch more than once to
take it all in.
Of the two movies, I honestly don't know which is better. Abre Los Ojos
is incredible and Vanilla Sky is the rare fantasic remake. Abre Los
Ojos has a more original, realistic feel while Vanilla Sky is slightly
more Hollywood. They are similar, yet very different.
Video & Sound
Many times, foreign films are a bit lacking in the video quality
department. Luckily, Abre Los Ojos looks very good. There are a few
grainy scenes and a few scenes where the color looks a little washed
out, but as a whole, it's not too bad. Unfortunately, the same can't be
said of the sound. The audio track is just the standard 2-track stereo.
It's too bad because a movie like this would've benefitted from a
brilliant surround track, but I guess it wasn't too be. In case you
couldn't tell by the movie title, this film is in Spanish subtitled in
English.
Extras
There are four pages of interesting production notes, but other than
that, there really is nothing here. Disappointing because, again, a
confusing movie like this would benefit from some director explanations.
Closing Thoughts...
Without Vanilla Sky, I may have never seen Abre Los Ojos. Both
films were great, if you haven't seen either, start with this one
first. If you've seen Vanilla Sky and liked it, check out this one.
Overall Score
Movie - 8
Video & Sound - 6
Extras - 2
Overall - 6
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 April 2005 11:52 |
