What is cinema, if not memories of the sorrows, joys, frights, thrills, disappointments and other emotions that have shaped our lives and personalities? Director Victor Erice makes a long-awaited return to feature-length filmmaking with Close Your Eyes (Cerrar los ojos in Spanish), also co-written by him alongside Michel Gaztambide, from a story by Erice. In 2012's Madrid, we meet Miguel ''Mike'' Garay (Manolo Solo), an author and a former filmmaker who's taking part in a TV program that is delving into the production of his second film, one which was left unfinished after its star and Miguel's friend Julio Arenas (José Coronado) disappeared into thin air one day. While making the retrospective program, Miguel meets up with the film's editor Max (Mario Pardo) and Julio's daughter Ana (Ana Torrent), before he also receives a tip from Belén (María León), an asylum worker who may know what happened to Julio.
Close Your Eyes is bookended by scenes from the unfinished movie mentioned above, referred to as 'The Farewell Gaze' in English—maybe a fittingly prophetic title for a filmmaker grappling with the legacy of their own images and stories—but most of the pathos lies in the interactions in between them. Erice and Gaztambide focus on memory and character, in addition to cinema's role in all of that, as characters ponder how those moments and connections should be preserved, how they should be talked about and how stories can even influence one's personality or behaviour.
A lot of these emotions are handsomely translated by Coronado in particular when we learn about where he ended up after his disappearance, which led him to reinvent himself, so to speak. Though memories can be everlasting, they can also be frail if a person isn't safeguarding their own health and consciousness. The bond between Miguel and Julio is the beating heart here so it's no surprise that the scenes with them are the most impactful, plus Erice's direction rightfully doesn't overcomplicate things at any point. It's a very touching portrait of a flawed, slightly egoistic but truthful friendship underneath it all.
You expect Erice to get into those intricacies because of the 169-minute runtime, and thankfully he manages to do that too since the movie perhaps has a bit too much on its mind. It's understandable that the filmmaker is putting it all out there, just as it is fair to recognise that this kind of rhythm may not be for you or me. Nevertheless, in the hands of editor Ascen Marchena, there are almost a deadly amount of lulls and loose threads in the film, plus the general sense that neither Erice nor Marchena realises that Solo's lead performance isn't strong enough to warrant over two hours of story and overlong scenes. It's an unsteady one as it works in scenes with Coronado but is rather dull and even bizarrely sinister elsewhere, like in a scene with the guys' former lover Lola (Soledad Villamil). Seeing how there are lots of moments that linger for way too long, it's likely the editing that is primarily at fault.
Some story beats in the first half do not mesh well with the rest, but the last 30-minute stretch is where Close Your Eyes shines, thanks to many moving flourishes as well as Coronado's acting. It definitely might resonate to a greater extent with an older person who finds the film's themes more urgent, therefore deserving a rewatch much later, but even as a story about friends and their shared connection, it's worth preserving.
Smileys: Ending, José Coronado
Frowneys: Editing
An aisle in the middle of a theatre is always diabolical.
3.0/5
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