Directed by Guillem Morales
A hit at the recent Spanish Film Festival, this film is all about seeing, even though it is a full-on assault against the senses. Julia’s twin sister committed suicide after a degenerative eye disease left her blind and the operation that was meant to restore her sight failed.
The audience knows, and Julia (Belen Rueda who also plays the sister) suspects, that her sister did not in fact take her life, but that another person was involved. Suffering from the same degenerative eye disease, Julia takes a physical journey where she tries to unearth her sister’s killer. She is also forced to take an emotional journey as her world is gradually plunged into darkness.
As Julia’s sight deteriorates, the tension builds and the audience is taken on a scary roller-coaster ride of heightened emotions. Both Julia and the audience know that something terrible is lurking in the shadows and have to learn that seeing does not always need to rely on one’s eyes. There are quite a few Hitchcock-inspired moments as Julia’s frustrated attempts at uncovering the murderer are hampered by what she can’t see. Attempting to save her own sight and find the killer who is also targeting her becomes a breathless race against the clock. It is not until she is denied her sight that Julia comes face to face with her sister’s killer and by this time, the full horror of the situation has been revealed.
Through Julia’s Eyes uses Julia’s desperate need to survive to reveal just how much we don’t “see†what is around us. As director Guillem Morales says, ‘It’s a film about a woman who’s going blind. But before losing her sight forever, she’ll have to see things, important things; that she’d never seen before, and these can be beautiful or terrible.’
Lezly Herbert
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