JULIA’S EYES (LOS OJOS DE JULIA)

Spain, 2010, 112 minutes. Colour.
Belen Rueda, Lluis Homar, Pablo Derqui.
Directed by Guillem Morales.

For those who enjoy atmospheric thrillers, suspense, plot twists and some shocks (and are not necessarily too worried about characters’ behaviour that puts them in peril when they should have used more common sense), then this should be quite a satisfying entertainment.

With the title focusing on Julia’s eyes, audiences can expect a film about blindness and terror. And this is precisely what we get. We go right into it with Julia’s twin sister, Sara, blind from an eye degenerative disease, being terrorised and killing herself. Julia’s eyes are also deteriorating and she collapses at the very time of her sister’s death. She hurries to help but finds Sara dead – and becomes determined, no, obsessed, in trying to find out what happened to her sister. And this, despite the hesitations of her loving husband who is particularly concerned that stress could bring about a hastening of her sight loss.

The audience knows that there was someone present when Sara killed herself but we have no idea who. Julia’s search leads her only part of the way. She is helped by some of Sara’s friendly, but mysterious neighbours (an elderly man and his reclusive daughter and an elderly blind woman) add to her suspicions.

The suspense in the first part of the film is not knowing who the unknown stalker is and if and/or when he will strike at Julia.

Julia undergoes an operation which seems to be successful, a transplant (which also offers a twist on who is the donor and how), but has to keep her bandage on for two weeks to avoid any further damage to her eyes. She opts (bad move) to go to her sister’s house, saying that she knows it well and can feel her way around instead of staying in the safety of the hospital. She is assigned a carer, Ivan, who is at her beck and call, considerate and kind and on whom she comes to depend.

The suspense in the latter part of the film is that Julia knows and now we know who the attacker is and whether she can cope or not. Resisting the temptation to mention some of the effectively surprising plot twists, suffice it to say that there are chases, menaces and knives – and in the dark.

One advertising blurb praises the film’s originality. That is not quite right – and it would seem that the film is not claiming much originality. Rather, it draws on several well-known thrillers with blind characters like Mia Farrow in Blind Terror and, especially, Audrey Hepburn in Wait Until Dark. There are also some nods to Rear Window. Which means that the film places itself in a respectable (Hitchcockian some have said) tradition of intriguing audiences with familiar thriller conventions. It does its job well.


1. A suspense drama? Horror touches? The blending of these elements?

2. The originality of the plot, derivative of various horror and psychological films, paying homage to them?

3. The structure: the introduction to mystery, Sarah’s death and the invisible man, Julia and her sense of her sister’s death, not knowing who the invisible man was, the transition to her knowing, the two different ways of suspense? The various twists? Whether the film was realistic and logical or not – does it matter for this kind of thriller?

4. The introduction to Sarah, the close-up of her eyes, the playing of The Look of Love, her sensing that someone was present, her growing anguish, the power failure, going to the basement, defying the invisible man, killing herself, his photographing it?

5. Julia, her work with the telescope, her love for the Sahara, the universe in her eyes? Her collapse, Isaac and his love for her, her sense of what was happening to Sarah, hurrying, their searching the house, the discovery of the body, Julia becoming obsessed to know the truth? The power coming back on, the playing of The Look of Love, the search for evidence?

6. Julia and her obsession, trying to track down some information, the neighbour coming in, the story of his daughter Lia and her friendship with Sarah, the old woman neighbour, their bonds with Sarah, providing information for Julia? Going with Isaac to the hotel, his wariness, the danger of strain on her eyes and her losing her sight? Staying at the hotel? The information about the restaurant, their going for the meal, Isaac’s comments, the waiter, his talking about Sarah and the man with her? Isaac upset with her and her trying to find out more information, trying to calm her down?

7. Isaac, his love for Julia, their marriage, after meeting in the Sahara? His support? His knowing about Sarah’s operation, its failure, not telling Julia, her reaction? The suddenness of his death, the note, the story of the infidelity? Audiences believing it or not? His being in the morgue, Julia not wanting to bury him until the operation was over, her finally going to see him at the end?

8. Sarah’s house, the ability of the blind to move around without light, the experience, the feel, knowing the house, sensing other presences? How well used was this device of the dark house for the blind person?

9. Ivan and his not being fully seen, his arriving to help Julia, late because of the traffic, providing the meal, the mystery of the key, Julia’s ability to contact him, his coming in emergencies, reassuring her, his visits, listening to her story, his own story about the accident of his sight, his becoming a nurse, Julia kissing him, his retreating away from her, the puzzle?

10. Julia’s nightmares, Sarah and Isaac conspiring against her, waking in fright? Contacting the police? Hearing the noises in the house?

11. The neighbour, his help, his unwelcome advances? His bringing Lia’s flowers to the funeral? Lia and her story, the audience not seeing her, eventually seeing her?

12. The old lady, as a neighbour, the rope to her house, her friendship with Sarah, offering to help?

13. Her going to Ivan’s house, Lia and her intervention, Lia’s story? Julia and the after-effects of the operation, the bandage around her eyes for two weeks, not taking it off, Ivan and his taking off the bandage but putting on another one? Trusting Lia? Her taking the bandage off, seeing Lia dead? Seeing Ivan’s face – and the audience seeing it for the first time? Sinister, his watching her, her pretending that she was blind, his testing her out with the knife? The tea and the drops, her changing the cups around? Ivan’s changing, taking her to the freezer – and the real Ivan’s body?

14. Audience response to Ivan, after his gentleness and not seeing him to seeing him? Julia’s going to the room, the gallery of photos as Lia told her?

15. Ivan and his pursuit of Julia, the dangers, getting the car, releasing the brake, her escape, following the rope to the neighbour’s house?

16. The mother, Julia asking her help, the irony that she was Ivan’s mother, his name, Angel? His previous explanations about being unseen, humiliated? His mother’s talk with him and her control of him? Her hitting Julia? Angel and his reactions to his mother, his control, taking away his self-esteem, stabbing her eyes?

17. The return to the basement, the possibility for Julia to hang herself, her not being able to, the lights out and her keeping Ivan at bay? His camera?

18. Calling the police, confronting Ivan, his slitting his throat?

19. Julia going to the morgue, her farewell to Isaac?

20. While the film had many derivative elements, paid homage to Wait Until Dark, Blind Terror, Rear Window and other films, how well did it bring all these themes together – especially of people living in a sightless world? The possibilities of fear and terror?