''Close Your Eyes'' () is a 2023 Spanish-Argentine

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film directed by

Víctor Erice Víctor Erice Aras (; born 30 June 1940) is a Spanish film director. He is best known for his first two feature fiction films, '' The Spirit of the Beehive'' (1973), which many regard as one of the greatest Spanish films ever made, and '' El Sur' ...

from a screenplay by Erice and

Michel Gaztambide Michel Gaztambide (born 1959) is a France-born screenwriter based in the Basque Country, Spain. He is a recurring collaborator of Enrique Urbizu. Biography Born in 1959 in Apt, Vaucluse, France, he was raised in Pamplona, Navarre, Spain. He ...

which stars

Manolo Solo Manuel Jesús Fernández Serrano (born 1964), better known as Manolo Solo, is a Spanish actor. Biography Born in Algeciras in 1964, he was raised in neighbouring Los Barrios until age 6, later moving to Seville with his family. Part of the S ...

José Coronado José María Coronado García (born 14 August 1957) is a Spanish film and television actor and former model. His performances playing (often corrupt and/or morally dubious) law enforcement officer roles have brought him some of the greatest succ ...

, and

Ana Torrent Ana Torrent Bertrán de Lis (born 12 July 1966) is a Spanish film actress. She featured as a child actress in pictures such as ''The Spirit of the Beehive'' (1973), and ''Cría cuervos'' (1976), ''Elisa, vida mía'' (1977) and '' The Nest'' (19 ...

. The film had its world premiere in the Cannes Premiere section of the 76th Cannes Film Festival on 22 May 2023.

Plot

In 2012, about twenty years after the mysterious disappearance of actor Julio Arenas on the seacoast while shooting a film titled ''The Farewell Gaze'' in the 1990s, a sensationalist television show revives the case, coming to involve film director and Arenas's close friend Miguel Garay, who talks to Julio's daughter Ana, the movie's editor and archivist Max, and mutual friend and lover Lola.

Cast

Production

The project was Erice's first full-length film since his 1992 documentary '' The Quince Tree Sun'' and was revealed upon the disclosure of the allocation of public funding to the film's production by Andalusian regional broadcaster

Canal Sur Canal Sur ('South Channel') is part of Radio y Televisión de Andalucía (RTVA), the public broadcasting company of Andalusia. It was created by means of the devolved powers given to this autononomous community by an Act of Parliament in its ...

in mid-2022. The screenplay was penned by Víctor Erice and

based on an original story by Erice. The film was a co-production between Pecado Films, Tandem Films, Nautilus Films, Pampa Films and ''La voz del adiós AIE'', with the participation of

RTVE The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española (''Spanish Radio and Television'', RTVE), is the Spanish national public Broadcasting, television and radio broadcaster. It is a state-owned enterprise f ...

, Canal Sur, Vodafone,

EiTB Euskal Irrati Telebista (; ; acronym EITB, branded eitb) is the Basque Autonomous Community's public broadcast service, which broadcasts throughout the Basque Country. Its main brand is Euskal Telebista (ETB, Basque Television). EITB is the l ...

Movistar Plus+ Movistar Plus+ (formerly Movistar+) is the trade name of the subscription platform for digital television owned by , which operates in Spain. The service is distributed via optical fiber and ADSL as well as with satellites such as Astra. The pl ...

Telemadrid Telemadrid is a public television station in the Community of Madrid, Spain, the flagship channel of the regional public broadcaster Radio Televisión Madrid (RTVM). It began its broadcast on 2 May 1989. History First years Telemadrid was cr ...

, and support from ICAA, Andalusia and Madrid regional administrations, and . Shooting locations included Castell de Ferro and Gualchos (

province of Granada Granada is a province of southern Spain, in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by the provinces of Albacete, Murcia, Almería, Jaén, Córdoba, Málaga, and the Mediterranean Sea (along the Costa Tropi ...

) and Aguadulce (

province of Almería Almería (, also ; ) is a province of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It was named after the Arab ruler of Taifa, Banu Al-Miri. It is bordered by the provinces of Granada, Murcia, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is the homony ...

), as well as

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

and

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Release

The film was selected to be screened in the Cannes Premiere section of the 76th Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 22 May 2023. Erice declined to attend the premiere, explaining his absence in an open letter sent to ''

El País (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...

'' on the basis of a reported lack of "dialogue and consultation" on the part of the festival's programming director

Thierry Frémaux Thierry Frémaux (; born 29 May 1960 in Tullins) is the director of the Institut Lumière, of the Lumière Film Festival and of the Cannes Film Festival. Education and career Frémaux has a '' diplôme d'études approfondies'' (equivalent to a ...

during the selection process. Having submitted a QuickTime format version of the film in March 2023 and later a DCP with the final color grading and sound mixes, Erice reportedly knew about the Cannes Premiere slate during the official press conference on the morning of 13 April 2023, with Frémaux reportedly ignoring Erice and failing to notify him in due time whether the film would be entered into an official selection's competition slot, thus leaving Erice no time to consider other screening alternatives for ''Close Your Eyes'', including an opening of Cannes' parallel section

Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (, formerly ) is an independent section held in parallel to the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festival as a ...

, and screenings in

Locarno Locarno (; ; Ticinese dialect, Ticinese: ; formerly in ) is a southern Switzerland, Swiss List of towns in Switzerland, town and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district Locarno (district), Locarno (of which it is the capita ...

and

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. The Cannes festival's administration issued a statement in response claiming that the selection of the film took place under usual conditions, explaining that they were "above all proud and happy to have welcomed ''Close Your Eyes'' by Víctor Erice to its 76th edition". The film also made it to the "Centrepiece" programme of the

2023 Toronto International Film Festival The 48th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 7 to 17, 2023.Victoria Ahearn"TIFF reveals new programmers and other 2023 festival details" '' Playback'', April 20, 2023. The most noted change from past years was tha ...

, to the "Icon" section of the

28th Busan International Film Festival The 28th Busan International Film Festival () opened on October 4 at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan, South Korea. Song Kang-ho of ''Parasite (2019 film), Parasite'' fame welcomed filmmakers as host of the festival, while Park Eun-bin acted as ...

, to the "Create" section of the

2023 BFI London Film Festival The 67th BFI London Film Festival was a film festival that took place from 4–15 October 2023. The competition films were announced on 29 August 2023 while the films for the galas and the strands were revealed on 31 August 2023. The juries for th ...

, and to the main slate of the

2023 New York Film Festival The 61st New York Film Festival took place between September 29 to October 15, 2023, presented by Film at Lincoln Center. Todd Haynes' romantic drama '' May December'' was the "Opening Night Film" of this year edition, while Sofia Coppola's biogra ...

. acquired distribution rights in France, where its

theatrical release An art release is the premiere of an artistic production and its presentation and marketing to the public. Film A film release is the authorization by the owner of a completed film to a public exhibition of the film. The exhibition may be in thea ...

date was set for 16 August 2023. New Wave Films acquired distribution rights in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Distributed by Avalon, the film was released theatrically in Spain on 29 September 2023. It was released on

on 8 February 2024.

Film Movement Film Movement is a North American distributor of independent and foreign films, which is based in New York City, founded in 2003. History Film Movement was founded in 2003, and has released more than 250 feature films and shorts. Having grown f ...

acquired North American distribution rights in April 2024; a theatrical run starting on 23 August 2024 was planned in New York and Los Angeles with digital and home entertainment releases to follow. On 7 September 2023, ahead of its Spanish theatrical premiere, the film was announced to be on the shortlist for Spain's submission to the 96th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film, competing with ''

20,000 Species of Bees ''20,000 Species of Bees'' () is a 2023 Spanish Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren in her debut feature. It stars Sofía Otero, Patricia López Arnaiz, Ane Gabarain, and Itziar Lazkano. ...

'', and ''

Society of the Snow ''Society of the Snow'' () is a 2023 survival drama film directed by J. A. Bayona and based on Pablo Vierci's 2008 book of the same name, which details the true story of a Uruguayan rugby team's experience in 1972 after Uruguayan Air Forc ...

''.

Reception

Critical response

Manu Yáñez of ''

Fotogramas ''Fotogramas'' is a Spanish digital and print film magazine which has been in circulation since 1946. It is one of the early film magazines in Spain. History Founded in Barcelona, it was first published on 15 November 1946 by Antonio Nadal-Rodó ...

'' rated ''Close Your Eyes'' 5 out of 5 stars, highlighting the final stretch of the story as the best thing about the film. Jordan Mintzer of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' underscored the film to be "a poignant cinematic swan song".

Peter Bradshaw Peter Nicholas Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire'' magazine. Early life and education Bradshaw was educat ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' rated the film 4 out of 5 stars describing it as "expansive, garrulous and yet also downbeat and pessimistic", considering that "there is something deeply civilised and gentle about this film".

Justin Chang Justin Choigee Chang is an American film critic and columnist currently working at ''The New Yorker''. He previously worked for '' Variety'' and for ''Los Angeles Times''. His 2023 reviews at the ''Times'' won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Critici ...

of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' wrote that the film "has its own warm spirit of optimism but, happily, none of the self-regarding solipsism you might fear from such a personal valentine to cinema". Chang also chose the movie as his number one pick on his list of The Best Films of 2024 for The New Yorker magazine and for National Public Radio's "Fresh Air" program. Daniel de Partearroyo of ''

Cinemanía ''Cinemanía'' is a monthly film magazine based in Madrid, Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost po ...

'' rated the film 4½ out of 5 stars, stressing in the verdict "the return of the king", and how Erice "is awe-inspiring with his gaze from another time". In January 2024, the American

National Society of Film Critics The National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) is an American film critic organization. The organization is known for its highbrow tastes, and its annual awards are one of the most prestigious film critics awards in the United States. In January 2024, ...

signalled ''Close Your Eyes'' in a "special citation for a film awaiting U.S. distribution".

Top ten lists

The film was listed by several critics amongst the top 10 best films of 2023: * 1st — ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' (Rafael Sánchez Casademont) * 2nd — '' Cahiers du Cinéma'' (consensus) The film also appeared on a number of critics' top 10 lists of the best Spanish films of 2023: * 1st — ''

El Cultural ''El Cultural'' is a Spanish weekly magazine dedicated to arts and culture. It is based in Madrid. It was a weekly supplement of '' La Razón''. It later was one of the weekly supplements of '' El Mundo'', as a part of Unidad Editorial S.A. In ...

'' (critics) * 3rd — '' El Mundo'' (Luis Martínez) * 7th — ''

El Español ''El Español'' is a Spanish online newspaper that started in 2015. It has its headquarters in Avenida de Burgos, 16D, 7º, Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid. As of April 2025, it has the largest digital reach among all newspapers in Spain, averaging ...

'' (''Series & Más'' consensus)

Accolades

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29th Forqué Awards The 29th Forqué Awards, organised by , were presented on 16 December 2023 at the IFEMA Palacio Municipal in Madrid. Background Organised by EGEDA, the ceremony has the participation of Ayuntamiento de Madrid, the Madrid regional administratio ...

, , colspan = "2" ,

Best Film The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

, , , , rowspan = "2" , , - , Best Actor in a Film , , Manolo Solo , , , - , rowspan = "44" , , , rowspan = "9" ,

11th Feroz Awards The 11th Feroz Awards ceremony, presented by the Asociación de Informadores Cinematográficos de España, took place at the Palacio Vistalegre Arena in Madrid, on 26 January 2024, to recognize the best in Spanish cinema and television. The gala ...

, , colspan = "2" , Best Drama Film , , , , rowspan = "9" , , - ,

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * As ...

, , Víctor Erice , , , - ,

Best Screenplay This list of screenwriting awards for film is an index to articles on notable awards given for film screenwriting. The list is organized by region and country of the awards venue or sponsor, but winners are not necessarily restricted to people fro ...

, , Víctor Erice, Michel Gaztambide , , , - , Best Actor in a Film , , Manolo Solo , , , - , Best Supporting Actress in a Film , , Ana Torrent , , , - , Best Supporting Actor in a Film , , José Coronado , , , - , Best Original Soundtrack , , Federico Jusid , , , - , Best Poster , , Sergio Pozas, Manolo Pavón , , , - , Best Trailer , , Elena Gutiérrez , , , - , rowspan="4" ,

3rd Carmen Awards The 3rd Carmen Awards ceremony, presented by the Andalusian Film Academy, took place on 3 February 2024 at Huelvas . It was hosted by Martita de Graná and Salva Reina. Background In November 2023, during the Huelva Ibero-American Film Festival, ...

, , colspan="2" , Best Film , , , , rowspan ="4" , , - , Best Actor , , Manolo Solo , , , - , rowspan ="2", Best Supporting Actress, , María León , , , - , Petra Martínez , , , - , rowspan = "12" , 79th CEC Medals , , colspan = "2" , Best Film , , , , rowspan = "12" , , - , Best Director , , Víctor Erice , , , - , Best Original Screenplay , , Michel Gaztambide, Víctor Erice , , , - , Best Actor , , Manolo Solo , , , - , rowspan = "3" , Best Supporting Actor , , José Coronado , , , - , José María Pou , , , - , Mario Pardo , , , - , Best Supporting Actress , , Ana Torrent , , , - , Best New Actress , , Venecia Franco , , , - , Best Cinematography , , Valentín Álvarez , , , - , Best Editing , , Ascen Marchena , , , - , Best Music , , Federico Jusid , , , - , rowspan = "11" ,

38th Goya Awards The 38th Goya Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain, took place at the premises in Valladolid, Castile and León on 10 February 2024. The ceremony was broadcast on La 1 (Spanish TV channel), La 1 ...

, , colspan = "2" ,

, , , , rowspan = "11" , , - ,

, , Víctor Erice , , , - ,

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

, , Víctor Erice, Michel Gaztambide , , , - , Best Actor , , Manolo Solo , , , - , Best Supporting Actress , , Ana Torrent , , , - , Best Supporting Actor , , José Coronado , , , - ,

Best Cinematography The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best ...

, , Valentín Álvarez , , , - , Best Editing , , Ascen Marchena , , , - ,

Best Sound The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

, , Iván Marín, Juan Ferro, Candela Palencia , , , - ,

Best Art Direction The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted fro ...

, , Curru Garabal , , , - , Best Production Supervision , , María José Díez , , , - , rowspan = "2" ,

32nd Actors and Actresses Union Awards The 32nd Actors and Actresses Union Awards ceremony was held on 11 March 2024 at the Circo Price in Madrid. It was hosted by , , and . In addition to the competitive awards, "the actresses who changed the language of cinema in Spain" were recogni ...

, , Best Film Actor in a Leading Role , , Manolo Solo , , , , rowspan = "2" , , - , Best Film Actor in a Secondary Role , , José Coronado , , , - , rowspan = "6" ,

11th Platino Awards The 11th Platino Awards, presented by the Entidad de Gestión de Derechos de los Productores Audiovisuales (EGEDA) and the Federación Iberoamericana de Productores Cinematográficos y Audiovisuales (FIPCA), took place at Gran Tlachco Theater in R ...

, , colspan = "2" , Best Ibero-American Film , , , , rowspan = "6" , , - ,

, , Michel Gaztambide, Víctor Erice , , , - , Best Supporting Actor , , José Coronado , , , - , Best Supporting Actress , , Ana Torrent , , , - ,

, , Valentín Álvarez , , , - ,

, , Curru Garabal , ,

References

External links

* {{authority control 2023 films 2023 drama films Films directed by Víctor Erice Films shot in the province of Granada Films shot in the province of Almería Films shot in Asturias Films shot in Madrid Films about film directors and producers Films about actors Films scored by Federico Jusid 2020s Spanish-language films Spanish drama films Argentine drama films Films set in 2012 2020s Spanish films 2020s Argentine films Films about missing people