I know, I know. It is about time I got around to doing a review, isn't it? I decided to take a break from doing reviews, which ended up being a longer break than I had intended it to be. I haven't really even been watching movies lately either. I've been feeling the urge to get back into doing writing, so maybe I will turn things around for a bit at least. I don't think I will hit anywhere near ten reviews this month, but I'm cool with that. I have been reading a couple of Top Horror Movies Of 2016 lists lately, and that has been getting me to want to watch movies again. A lot of the films on the lists I have read are some I haven't watched yet. The Eyes Of My Mother (2016) is one such film. I had heard about it last month, but just now got around to watching it.
As a young girl, Francisca (Olivia Bond) is growing up like most little girls on a farm. There is one major difference, her mother (Diana Agostini) is teaching her how to become a surgeon. Using cows to cut on, Francisca watches and listen to her mother and she tells Francisca what it was like to be a surgeon in Portugal. One day, things change when a stranger shows up. With her father (Paul Nazak) not being home, Charlie (Will Brill) takes advantage of the situation and kills Francisca's mother. Francisca seems unphased by her mother's death and having to help her father with the body. What she does with Charlie is a bit shocking. As she gets older, and after her father has passed away, Francisca (Kika Magalhaes) is struggling with being alone, but you may not want to keep her company.
I try not to let the hype of a film get in the way of enjoying it. Usually, when a film is getting a lot of praise, I will wait a while before jumping in myself. I guess I do that to separate myself more from the hype. I waited a bit on The Eyes Of My Mother, but maybe not long enough. The few friends I have that have already watched this film did say some pretty good things about it. The reviews I have read small parts of were putting it on a pedestal with things like "Shockingly original". I guess I was expecting something...different than what I got. Not that it is a bad film by any means. It just wasn't "The horror event of the year" for me. I think I was more disappointed with myself for buying into the hype. I try my best not to and try to treat every film the same, something that could scare me.
The Eyes Of My Mother was written and directed by Nicolas Pesce. I had it in my head from the trailer that this was a film from another country, but it turns out that I was wrong. It is filmed in black and white, which can really add to things at times. It does mute the violence and gore some, but it can also make some of the shots more beautiful as well. The film never says when it is taking place, but it does have a bit of a 60s vibe to it. The majority of the film takes place with Francisca being an adult, but I found the scenes with her as a young girl to be more creepy and effective. Even though one wouldn't expect a woman to do most of what Francisca does, it was even more shocking that a child was doing it. While I didn't find the scenes with an adult Francisca as shocking, I don't want that taking away from the performance that Kika Magalhaes gave. The story wasn't so much about the violence, but more of a character study. I've never been into these types of movies, so I guess that is part of why I didn't get into it much. However, it was pretty interesting in how she tries to not feel lonely. I was a bit surprised at how quiet the film is. The dialogue comes in spurts and there isn't really a musical score to be found. Not that the quiet bothered me, but I wasn't expecting it.
The effects don't always look all the gory, but when you are talking about eye removal, I believe anyway and having the eyelids sewed shut, this is some pretty gruesome stuff. These effects looked well done, but aren't shown a lot. The acting was also very good. Olivia Bond and Kika Magalhaes both do a wonderful job of bringing their character to life. I was really impressed with them both. Magalhaes does a wonderful job with her movements and expressions. I was fascinated by her in that way.
One of the things I didn't like about the story for The Eyes Of My Mother is that I didn't feel things were always explained very well. Are we really to believe that Francisca knows enough to keep someone alive, after doing her own surgery and being kept in a barn for years on end? It is a bit of a leap of faith on Pesce's part. So, I didn't get into The Eyes Of My Mother as much as I thought I would, but I still enjoyed it. I still loved some of it. That being said, I have a feeling this is a film that will grow on me more the more I see it. It is a movie that I will be willing to watch anytime, and I will likely suggest it to a group of friends that get together for a horror movie night. If you haven't given this film a shot, you probably should. It isn't for everyone, but which film is? Considering how many people have put it on their "best of 2016" lists, it is a safe bet.
3 out of 5 Stay with me forever
As a young girl, Francisca (Olivia Bond) is growing up like most little girls on a farm. There is one major difference, her mother (Diana Agostini) is teaching her how to become a surgeon. Using cows to cut on, Francisca watches and listen to her mother and she tells Francisca what it was like to be a surgeon in Portugal. One day, things change when a stranger shows up. With her father (Paul Nazak) not being home, Charlie (Will Brill) takes advantage of the situation and kills Francisca's mother. Francisca seems unphased by her mother's death and having to help her father with the body. What she does with Charlie is a bit shocking. As she gets older, and after her father has passed away, Francisca (Kika Magalhaes) is struggling with being alone, but you may not want to keep her company.
I try not to let the hype of a film get in the way of enjoying it. Usually, when a film is getting a lot of praise, I will wait a while before jumping in myself. I guess I do that to separate myself more from the hype. I waited a bit on The Eyes Of My Mother, but maybe not long enough. The few friends I have that have already watched this film did say some pretty good things about it. The reviews I have read small parts of were putting it on a pedestal with things like "Shockingly original". I guess I was expecting something...different than what I got. Not that it is a bad film by any means. It just wasn't "The horror event of the year" for me. I think I was more disappointed with myself for buying into the hype. I try my best not to and try to treat every film the same, something that could scare me.
The Eyes Of My Mother was written and directed by Nicolas Pesce. I had it in my head from the trailer that this was a film from another country, but it turns out that I was wrong. It is filmed in black and white, which can really add to things at times. It does mute the violence and gore some, but it can also make some of the shots more beautiful as well. The film never says when it is taking place, but it does have a bit of a 60s vibe to it. The majority of the film takes place with Francisca being an adult, but I found the scenes with her as a young girl to be more creepy and effective. Even though one wouldn't expect a woman to do most of what Francisca does, it was even more shocking that a child was doing it. While I didn't find the scenes with an adult Francisca as shocking, I don't want that taking away from the performance that Kika Magalhaes gave. The story wasn't so much about the violence, but more of a character study. I've never been into these types of movies, so I guess that is part of why I didn't get into it much. However, it was pretty interesting in how she tries to not feel lonely. I was a bit surprised at how quiet the film is. The dialogue comes in spurts and there isn't really a musical score to be found. Not that the quiet bothered me, but I wasn't expecting it.
The effects don't always look all the gory, but when you are talking about eye removal, I believe anyway and having the eyelids sewed shut, this is some pretty gruesome stuff. These effects looked well done, but aren't shown a lot. The acting was also very good. Olivia Bond and Kika Magalhaes both do a wonderful job of bringing their character to life. I was really impressed with them both. Magalhaes does a wonderful job with her movements and expressions. I was fascinated by her in that way.
One of the things I didn't like about the story for The Eyes Of My Mother is that I didn't feel things were always explained very well. Are we really to believe that Francisca knows enough to keep someone alive, after doing her own surgery and being kept in a barn for years on end? It is a bit of a leap of faith on Pesce's part. So, I didn't get into The Eyes Of My Mother as much as I thought I would, but I still enjoyed it. I still loved some of it. That being said, I have a feeling this is a film that will grow on me more the more I see it. It is a movie that I will be willing to watch anytime, and I will likely suggest it to a group of friends that get together for a horror movie night. If you haven't given this film a shot, you probably should. It isn't for everyone, but which film is? Considering how many people have put it on their "best of 2016" lists, it is a safe bet.
3 out of 5 Stay with me forever
