Close Your Eyes Review: Some of the most exquisite and impactful cinematic gifts are also the rarest. These films emerge only occasionally from filmmakers who may not be the most prolific but whose work is essential to experience whenever possible. From the first moment you witness one of their films, it feels like you’ve encountered something both magnificent and monumental. Although these works may be fleeting within the vast timeline of film history, their rarity only amplifies their value. Víctor Erice is one such visionary whose creations possess a quiet, radiant power in every frame. Since his debut feature, the transcendent 1973 film The Spirit of the Beehive, Erice has established himself as one of the most intriguing and formidable filmmakers. However, he has only produced two other feature films—the equally significant El Sur and Dream of Light—while mainly focusing on short films. That is, until now.
His fourth feature film, and his first in 30 years, Close Your Eyes, is a mystery centered on the disappearance of an actor, but it also explores deeper existential questions about life. This film is a breathtakingly melancholic journey, infused with a sense of loss, and woven with subtly painful yet poetic conversations about the search for something lost that may never be recovered. These rare discoveries make the film all the more captivating.
Close Your Eyes (2023)
Genres: Drama, Mystery
Plot: Miguel Garay, an aging filmmaker, is drawn back into the mystery of his last, unfinished project decades after his close friend and lead actor, Julio Arenas, vanished during its production. A renewed interest sparked by a TV program revisiting the case compels Miguel to reconnect with those involved, seeking closure as he revisits a past overshadowed by loss and unresolved questions.
Release Date: August 23, 2024
Director: Victor Erice
Cast: Manolo Solo, José Coronado, Ana Torrent, Petra Martinez, María León, Mario Pardo, Helena Miquel, Antonio Dechent, Josep Maria Pou, Soledad Villamil, Juan Margallo, Venecia Franco
Runtime: 169 Minutes
Main Genre: Drama
Writers: Victor Erice, Michel Gaztambide
What Is Close Your Eyes About?
Beautifully crafted with a deeply personal touch by Erice and Michel Gaztambide, the film opens with an extended conversation scene from a forgotten movie within the movie, The Farewell Gaze. There’s a meta aspect to this, as Erice himself worked on a project in the 90s that never came to fruition, but the film is also deeply grounded in the sense of loss that comes from something unfinished. In the story, this occurs because the lead actor, Julio Arena (Jose Coronado), mysteriously disappeared. The mystery of his disappearance has overshadowed the incomplete film, leading the director, Miguel Garay (Manolo Solo), to abandon filmmaking entirely. Now, years later, in modern-day Madrid, a TV investigation into Julio’s disappearance pulls Miguel out of seclusion. As he reconnects with his past, Miguel begins to uncover parts of himself and long-buried truths in a history that the world may soon forget. The revelations are best left to the film, even if they are more tragic and contemplative than thrilling.
When Miguel visits his old friend Max (Mario Pardo), a projectionist, to retrieve footage from the unfinished film for the TV show, the story begins to take shape. As the two characters fall back into their familiar rhythm, subtly revealing parts of their personalities to each other, a lingering sadness overshadows their conversation. Max mentions how the reels of film he has preserved, an irreplaceable piece of cinema history, are now gathering dust, forgotten as if they never existed. There’s no bitterness in his words, just a quiet acceptance that the world may no longer value such things. For anyone who has worked to cherish beauty and art, Max’s remark that “this industry has gone down the drain” feels like a sudden jolt, capturing the sinking feeling that everything worth preserving may soon be lost.
Yet, Miguel continues his journey, his demeanor shifting between resignation and obsession depending on the moment. He seems both detached from the film that ended with his actor’s disappearance, participating in the TV show despite its less-than-reverential approach, and deeply invested in every decision he makes, even if he doesn’t always express it. The film explores the intersection of cinema and the mundane realities of life outside the magical worlds it often creates, a theme that becomes increasingly evident as the story unfolds.
‘Close Your Eyes’ Reflects on Life’s Magic and Mundanity
Initially, the film focuses on extended, patient conversations between Miguel and characters like Max, each scene deceptively simple yet overflowing with emotion that cinematographer Valentín Álvarez often captures in extreme close-up. However, the narrative soon shifts in an entirely different direction. The first hint of this shift occurs midway through one of these conversations when Miguel imagines what might have happened to Julio. It’s as though he wills it into existence, and we see his vision come to life. Álvarez captures this beautifully, transforming Miguel’s words into a quietly stunning scene that sneaks up on you. This sequence feels like a film of an imagined memory that Miguel desperately wishes were true, making the eventual return to reality in the latter half of the film and the unexpected revelations that follow all the more poignant.
Erice, in every sublime moment, grapples with the notion that life is not like the movies we create. They aren’t real, no matter how much we want them to be, yet they still shape our lives. For Erice, the answers in our world are often simpler, but that only makes our need to dream all the more essential. Cinema, art, and life may not always fulfill our desires, but that doesn’t lessen their impact. You may want to hold onto Erice’s film tightly, but like water slipping through your fingers, it reminds us how the memories of life’s beautiful mundanities can easily fade away.
