Take My Eyes
(Te Doy Mis Ojos)
Icíar Bollaín / Spain / 2003 / 109 min
Spanish with English subtitles
One of Spain’s most gifted directors, Iciar Bollain, takes on a provocative topic, domestic abuse, without resorting to conventions like overt physical violence or wholesale demonisation of the perpetrator. Instead, she plumbs the rich psychology of characters, revealing the perverse interdependence between a husband and wife and the intricate ways both are trapped in a private hell. Set against the gorgeous backdrop of Toledo, and starring Laia Marull and Luis Tosar as the couple in question-both of whom eminently deserve the best actor awards they received at the 2003 San Sebastian Film Festival.
About the Director
Icíar Bollaín’s interest in cinema can be traced back to her teenage years and her roles in films such as Victor Erice’s El Sur (The South) and Manuel Gutierrez Aragon’s Misadventure (Malaventura). She subsequently appeared in Touching the Bottom, directed by José Luis Cuerda, Land And Freedom (Tierra Y Libertad), by Ken Loach, Jose Luis Borau’s No One Child (Niño Nadie) and Leo, for which she was nominated at the Goya® Academy Awards for Best Actress. She made her debut as a director in 1995 with Hi, Are You Alone? (¿Hola, Estas Sola?) with critical and audience success. She subsequently directed Flowers From Another World (Flores De Otro Mundo), Killing Loves (Amores Que Matan) and Take My Eyes (Te Doy Mis Ojos), for which she won seven Goya® Academy Awards, including Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Film. Then Mataharis came with two Goya® Academy Awards nominations.