Abre los ojos (1997) – 4/5
Very original and interesting. I loved the build up and mystery of ‘what in the world is going on.’ Even though I’d seen “Vanilla Sky”, I just liked watching it unfold before me.
I think it was good all around and made “Vanilla Sky” look like what it pretty much was: an American remake. Little change except the name, lead actor and inserted a bit of Hollywood for good measure.
SPOILERS:
I was disappointed in “Vanilla Sky” that it was basically all a dream. It’s hard to explain, but it’s like all the revelations and introspection was just made up in his head. Some how that took away from it in a way I can’t explain.
However, in this version (and maybe “Vanilla Sky” too and I just missed it), they seem to say (or at least imply) that the “dream” was all made up by him. I think in “Vanilla Sky” they say it’s a glitch in the computers.
But here it’s almost like they say: You’re doing this. You’re making this horrible and torture and maddening. Which made me think, he knows either consciously or otherwise that he’s shallow, selfish and arrogant and wanted to prove it to himself.
Of course he cd have done that by just living out his life instead of killing himself and dreaming it, but that’s why it might be subconscious.
Haiku summary:
spoiled man’s face wrecked
loses girl, dies, gets frozen
dreams life, learns lesson