Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8292 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-09-24
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: Spanish
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 114 minutes

Synopsis
Handsome 25-year-old Cesar (Eduardo Noriega) has it all--a successful career, expensive cars, a swank bachelor's pad, and an endless string of beautiful and willing women. Unfortunately, he can't get rid of his latest conquest, Nuria (Najwa Nimri) soon enough. When she crashes his birthday party, Cesar uses his best friend Pelayo's stunningly attractive girlfriend, Sofia (Penelope Cruz), as a means to her. The next morning, Nuria is waiting in her car outside his apartment and manages to coax him into the vehicle. The next thing Cesar knows, he's wearing a mask to conceal a horrible disfiguration while being interrogated in a prison held on a murder charge. Alejandro Amenabar's thriller distorts both the viewer's and Cesar's perception of reality with a series of mind-bending plot twists, ensuring that this intriguing Spanish production will keep you guessing until its final moments.

Customer Reviews

A film that keeps you guessing all the way
I first saw this film many years ago at a Spanish film festival in Manchester and the two hours flew by.

I can't really give you the story in full as I am not one to spoil a film, however I can tell you while you watch this film you are constantly wondering which of the realities you are presented with is true, or if any of them are true.

The film centres on a rich kid played by Eduardo Noriega he is in prison and may or may not be horribly disfigured, has been accussed of murder of a woman but it is not fully clear which woman, it seems to switch between two women or is he just insane??? You decide.

The film does build to a great climax on the roof of a high building as the main character tries to piece everything together, having to risk his life to test what reality is.

I really enjoyed this ride. Some good acting in this film Eduardo Noriega is excellent and Penelope Cruz is good as she always is in the Spanish speaking films she does.

Well worth a look.

Not for the Vanilla Sky fan...
As a fan of the film Vanilla Sky I decided to buy this and give it a go. After all this is the film Vanilla Sky was based on.

The film allowed me to appreciate two key points:

- How heavily Vanilla Sky copied Abre Los Ojos/Open your eyes
- How much of a better job Cameron Crow done with Vanilla Sky

The film is certainly not bad. I enjoy the storyline a lot, understandably. However I feel Vanilla Sky makes much more of an impact emotionally and psychologically. Whether this is down to the better acting or direction I am unsure, maybe it's a combination of the two?

The small changes in the story line made in Vanilla Sky make it much better. It could be said I am not a Tom Cruise fan, but his portrayal of a rich city slicker in Vanilla Sky is more convincing than Eduardo Noriega is in Abre Los Ojos.

In summary, if you are a Vanilla Sky fan looking to watch the source of inspiration of the film, I would suggest you don't. If you ignore the fact Vanilla Sky exists, the film is an interesting concept, fantastic as an original, but in execution I would rate it as average.

I hope my comments make sense. I make a point of not being a film critic (everyone has different tastes, so I see little point) so this is purely just a comparison between two films.