Overview
A haunting mystery unfolds as the past resurfaces, revealing secrets long buried.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Slow
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- melancholic
- contemplative
- gentle
- reflective evening
- slow cinema marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as an expansive, deeply humane and poignant meditation on cinema, memory, disappearance, and artistic legacy.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The opening excerpt from Julio Arenas's unfinished film and the later investigation into his disappearance make cinematic images central to recovering the past.
Julio Arenas disappears without a body, and the mystery resurfaces years later through witnesses, images, and recollection.
The disappearance occurs during the making of Arenas's final film, while Miguel Garay is drawn back toward the abandoned project and its history.
The contemporary search for Arenas repeatedly opens onto the earlier production, relationships, and clues surrounding his vanishing.
Films like Close Your Eyes, and why
The Long Day Closes
patient cinematic mystery, vanished figure, and reflective meditation on memory and filmmaking
The Spirit of the Beehive
melancholic european drama intertwining cinema, memory, absence, and the passage of time
The Vanishing
slow-burning disappearance mystery with an introspective, humane treatment of unresolved loss
The Souvenir
meta-cinematic drama about aging artists, memory, and the emotional afterlife of a film
Movie Details
- Director
- Víctor Erice
- Release Date
- 2023-08-16
- Runtime
- 169 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (128)
Cast
- Manolo Solo
- Jose Coronado
- Ana Torrent
- Petra Martínez
- María León
- Mario Pardo
- Helena Miquel
- Antonio Dechent
- Josep Maria Pou
- Soledad Villamil
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, Film Movement Plus, Film Movement Plus Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Close Your Eyes about?
- A vanished actor’s unfinished film draws his old director into a tender, mournful search through memory, cinema, and unresolved absence.
- What is Close Your Eyes like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Close Your Eyes as slow, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Close Your Eyes violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Close Your Eyes.
- What did critics think of Close Your Eyes?
- Critics broadly regard the film as an expansive, deeply humane and poignant meditation on cinema, memory, disappearance, and artistic legacy.
- Which films are like Close Your Eyes?
- Films with a similar feel include The Long Day Closes, The Spirit of the Beehive, The Vanishing, and The Souvenir.
- How long is Close Your Eyes?
- Close Your Eyes runs 169 minutes.
- Where can I watch Close Your Eyes?
- In United States, Close Your Eyes streams on MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, Film Movement Plus, Film Movement Plus Amazon Channel.
