The Eyes of My Mother

A cinematic display of pure horror. This is Nicolas Pesce on his directorial debut, that garnered six film awards (and 17 nominations) on this 2016 sundance feature. Pesce makes great use of the film’s short running time (under 80 minutes), it kept me on my toes the whole time.

The film delves into themes of trauma, isolation, and distorted human connection, every scene is carefully curated; the film was shot in exquisite black and white; the sound/music incorporated here are eerie and very off-putting, a film that’s definitely not for everyone.

Characters

A powerful performance by the lead actress, Francisca (played by Kika Magalhães). Her character was disturbing. Her reality was confined in the farm of her parents. She never knew anything else beyond that. When she was a child, her mother, a former surgeon in Portugal, would show her parts of animals they’ve killed and even killing them in front of her. Her mother would show her how to gouge the eyes out properly. At a very young age, her eyes and brain have been unfazed seeing death.

One day, her family’s ideal life in the countryside was shattered when a serial killer goes inside and proceeds to kill her mother. The young Francisca (played by Olivia Bond) didn’t even flinched nor screamed seeing the horror in front of her, but instead she was somewhat curious about it.

Her father then put the man in an unconscious state and chained him in the barn, refuses to report the incident to the authorities, and proceeds to bury his wife in their backyard. Francisca went to the barn and treated Charlie, the killer, as her only friend, before surgically removing both his eyes and and vocal chords. Chained up in the barn for years. Francisca takes care of him, feeds him and combs his hair, even through the death of her father, Charlie was all she had.

Charlie’s character had a pivotal role in Francisca growing up as a monster that she was. Charlie made her realize and understand how satisfying it was to kill people. That mindset built up on Francisca’s head. Year by year she spirals down a dark path.

The most impactful moment in the film was after Francisca kills Charlie, she imprisoned another person in the barn, a woman. Removing both eyes and vocal chords as well. The worst part was that the woman was a mother with a baby about a year old. Francisca even went to the barn with baby to tell the mother that she’s the one who is going to take care of the child now.

Satisfying end and conclusion

The ending was gut wrenching but oh so satisfying (justice-wise). The Eyes Of My Mother is a film that will surely transcend time. A beautifully crafted peak cinematography. The efficient use of its short run time of an hour and 16 minutes was impressive. The film is shot in black and white and has little dialogue, regardless of the above, all throughout the film I was tensed.

I’m pretty sure that Martyrs (2008) was a heavy inspiration The Eyes of My Mother as it also deals abduction, kept in an isolated place, and treated like animals.

This is NOT for everyone, as it deals with triggering subject matter.