Open Your Eyes

Cesar, a handsome twenty five year old with a fast track life, seems to have it all: a high powered job, luxury cars, a stylish apartment, and a string of glamorous affairs. Then a catastrophic car crash leaves him scarred and behind bars, and the world he knew begins to dissolve. The story follows his precarious footing as faces and places shift, memories flicker, and the line between dream and waking life grows thin. With his freedom in question, Cesar negotiates a small circle of people whose loyalties blur across Sofía, the enigmatic woman who keeps returning; Antonio, Pelayo, and Nuria, each offering a different version of the truth. The mood is sleek, unsettling, and relentlessly probing about identity.

Directed by Alejandro Amenábar with a screenplay by Amenábar and Mateo Gil, this 1997 Spanish drama thriller integrates sci fi elements to craft a stylish, mind bending experience that helped establish Amenábar's international profile.

Open Your Eyes inspired Cameron Crowe to rework the story as Vanilla Sky in 2001, a Hollywood remake that brought the voyage through dreams and reality to a wider audience and sharpened ongoing conversations about perception and identity in cinema.

Critics noted Amenábar's tight control, the film's chilly atmosphere, and the way it unsettles the viewer with questions about memory, desire and the nature of truth. The performances anchor the film's unsettling mood and leave the viewer pondering what was real.