Tormented by an unseen presence, a blind woman, Sara, prepares to hang herself in her basement, but changes her mind. As she tries to remove the noose, the stool beneath her is kicked away, leaving her to die. Miles away, Sara's twin sister, Julia, collapses, sensing something amiss.
Julia, who has the same degenerative disease but can still see, is tormented by Sara's death and by the feeling of another presence nearby. She insists Sara was not depressed as she was awaiting surgery to restore her vision. Her husband, Isaac, insists she stop investigating, as her doctor has informed him that Sara had eye surgery that was not successful.
Julia meets Sara's elderly blind neighbor Soledad, who has a pessimistic view that Isaac will leave her, as even Soledad's own son, Ángel, abandoned her after she went blind. After hearing that Sara had a boyfriend and they visited a hotel nearby, Julia goes there with Isaac. She is approached by an elderly janitor, Créspulo, who warns her of "men who live in shadows," who are dangerous because they are tired of being ignored.
Isaac disappears and Julia is convinced that the "invisible man" has kidnapped him, though the police are skeptical. Someone kills Créspulo, but police rule it an accident. Julia's eyesight continues to deteriorate. When Julia and the inspector return to Sara's house, the inspector discovers a suicide note and Isaac's body. Julia, now fully blind, cannot see anything.
A grieving Julia learns Isaac's suicide note declared he loved Sara, with whom he had been having an affair for six months. However, an eye donor is found, so the operation to save Julia's sight goes ahead. She is told she must wear bandages to protect her eyes from light for two weeks, and the morgue agrees to keep Isaac's body so she can see him to say goodbye. She returns to Sara's house with the daily help of a home nursing aid, Iván.
Julia is plagued by disorientation and convinced that somebody is lurking in the house; but Iván's patience helps her regain her independence. Four days before Julia is due to remove her bandages, an unseen man almost succeeds in drugging her while she sleeps; however, she wakes, panicked, and accidentally hits the intruder. She flees to a neighbour, Blasco, who makes advances on her. She escapes, calling Iván, who finds her hiding outside in the rain and escorts her to his apartment.
While Iván is out, Julia hears the voice of Blasco's shy daughter, Lía, who tells her that Iván is the "invisible man" who tormented and blinded Sara by ruining her operation, forced Isaac to write the fake suicide note before killing him, and has walls covered with photographs of Julia and Sara. Julia hides in the bathroom where, four days early, she tears off her bandages, desperate to see. Julia exits the bathroom and sees Iván's walls covered with photographs of the twins as well as Lía's bloodied body.
Iván returns to the apartment, where Julia pretends that she is crying because her operation has failed. He believes her momentarily before leading her to the body of the real Iván; Julia's scream betrays the fact that she can see. "Iván" tells her he loves her and wants them to be together as long as her sight is gone, since blind women are the only ones who need him.
"Iván" drives Julia back to Sara's, where she flees to Soledad's. "Iván" chases her and addresses Soledad as Mom, revealing himself as her missing son, Ángel. A candle and glasses betray the fact that Soledad is not really blind as she knocks Julia out, at which point an enraged Ángel attacks his mother and blinds her. Julia escapes and manages to contact the police. She uses a flashlight to show the police a bloodied Ángel hiding in a corner of the room. Finally visible, he slits his own throat.
At the hospital, Julia is told the damage to her new eyes is irreversible. Using her last few hours of vision, she finally says goodbye to Isaac's corpse, as it is revealed that he donated his eyes to her.
Guillermo del Toro worked a second time as producer for a Spanish genre production[4] and co-produced the film with Joaquín Padró and Mar Targarona for Rodar y Rodar Cine y Televisión.[5] The film starred Belén Rueda and Lluís Homar.[6] Guillem Morales wrote the screenplay co-authored with Oriol Paulo.[7] The film was co-financed by Focus Features International.[8]
Julia's Eyes received mostly positive reviews. As of June2020[update], it holds a 90% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 40 reviews, with an average rating of 6.54/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Smart, suspenseful, and visually distinctive, Julia's Eyes marks another modern Spanish thriller that quickens the pulse while engaging the mind."[15]
Philip French of The Guardian wrote, "Using blindness as a plot device, a metaphor for social awareness and as a numinous experience that romantically links minds, it's a fascinating, broken-backed picture full of riveting twists and dubious psychology."[16] Charlotte O'Sullivan of the London Evening Standard praised the film and Rueda in particular, writing, "Rueda is a fantastic actress, tightly wound, but never brittle. From the minute she's on screen we identify with Julia's plight."[17]
Philippa Hawker of The Age wrote, "Julia's Eyes becomes a little incoherent as it plunges towards resolution, but it's unerringly stylish and whole-heartedly suspenseful along the way. Morales toys with red herrings, references Hitchcock, amps up the tension, spills blood; he also plays with the camera's ability to reveal and conceal simultaneously. In the end, although the film takes on the traits of a classic 'don't go back inside the house' slasher movie, it's the quiet, slowly-building confrontations, one on one, that linger in the memory."[18]
Ivonne Belén is a Puerto Rican documentary movie director and producer.
María Belén Rueda García-Porrero is a Spanish actress. She became popular in Spain for her performances in the Globomedia-produced television series Periodistas (1998–2002) and, most notably, Los Serrano (2003–2007). Likewise, she has carved an international reputation among horror fans for her performances in horror and suspense works.
Alcanzar una estrella is a Mexican telenovela first broadcast on Canal de las Estrellas in 1990. Also broadcast in Latin America and on Univision in the United States, the telenovela tells the story of an introverted girl's infatuation with her teen idol. The leading roles were played by singers Mariana Garza and Eduardo Capetillo, ex-members of the Mexican pop band Timbiriche. The two also sang the theme songs, which were written by Ricardo Arjona. Arjona and other singers such as Patricia Manterola also made acting cameos. The story was produced by Luis de Llano, producer and manager of Timbiriche and Garibaldi, and written by actress Rita Macedo, de Llano's mother. Alcanzar una estrella turned out to be Macedo's last credit as an actress before she committed suicide in the mid-1990s.
Soledad Villamil is an Argentine film and television actress and singer. She has won two Carlos Gardel Awards, Argentine equivalent of American Grammy Awards and British BRIT Awards besides, Goya Award for Best New Actress for the film, The Secret in Their Eyes.
El Internado, also known as El Internado: Laguna Negra is a Spanish teen drama thriller television series produced by Globomedia for the Spanish network Antena 3. The series was originally broadcast in Spain from 24 May 2007 to 13 October 2010. The series began airing on Netflix on 15 July 2015, and it stopped airing on 20 December 2017. Then, the series was reaired on 16 October 2018.
The Orphanage is a 2007 supernatural horror film directed by J. A. Bayona in his directorial full-length debut. The film stars Belén Rueda as Laura, Fernando Cayo as her husband, Carlos, and Roger Príncep as their adopted son Simón. The plot centers on Laura, who returns to her childhood home, an orphanage. Laura plans to turn the house into a home for disabled children, but after an argument with Simón, he goes missing. The film is an international co-production film between Spain and Mexico.
Joaquín Cosío Osuna is a Mexican actor and poet. He has been nominated four times for the Mexican Academy of Film Ariel Awards, winning the Ariel Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work as Gabriel in The Thin Yellow Line in 2016.
The Secret in Their Eyes is a 2009 Argentine crime drama film produced, edited, and directed by Juan José Campanella from a screenplay by Campanella and Eduardo Sacheri, and based on Sacheri's 2005 novel La pregunta de sus ojos. It stars Ricardo Darín, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago, Javier Godino, and Guillermo Francella. The film focuses on the relationship between judiciary agents Benjamín Espósito (Darín) and Irene Hastings (Villamil) and their investigation into a murder case in 1970s Argentina.
Niña de mi corazón is a Mexican telenovela produced by Pedro Damián for Televisa that aired on Canal de las Estrellas from March 8, 2010 to July 9, 2010. It is a remake of the Mexican telenovela Mi pequeña traviesa, also produced by Pedro Damián.
Marian Álvarez Cachero is a Spanish actress. She has been typecast in suffering roles.
Natalia de Molina is a Spanish actress from Andalusia. Since her film debut in the 2013 dramedy Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed, she has featured in films such as Food and Shelter, Quién te cantará, Bye, Schoolgirls and Undercover Wedding Crashers.
The Body is a 2012 Spanish mystery thriller film directed by Oriol Paulo, starring José Coronado, Hugo Silva and Belén Rueda.
Guillem Morales is a Spanish filmmaker, playwright, and novelist. He is best known for writing and directing the Spanish thriller films The Uninvited Guest (2004) and Julia's Eyes (2010), directing various episodes of the British dark comedy series Inside No. 9 (2015–present), and directing the British thriller film The Wasp (2024).
Retribution is a 2015 Spanish-French action thriller film directed by Dani de la Torre, and starring Luis Tosar, Javier Gutiérrez, Elvira Mínguez and Goya Toledo. It was screened in the Venice Days section of the 72nd Venice International Film Festival.
Sara's Notebook is a 2018 Spanish drama film directed by Norberto López Amado and written by Jorge Guerricaechevarría, about how Laura Alonso searches for her missing sister in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Perfect Family is a 2021 Spanish comedy film directed by Arantxa Echevarría and written by Olatz Arroyo. The cast features Belén Rueda, José Coronado, Gonzalo de Castro, Pepa Aniorte, Carolina Yuste, Gonzalo Ramos, Jesús Vidal and Lalo Tenorio.
Asia Ortega Leiva is a Spanish film and television dancer and actress who became known for her participation in the series Les de l'hoquei (2019-2020) as Flor Vilamayor. Later, she starred in the series El internado: Las Cumbres (2021-2022) in the role of Amaia Torres.
You Shall Not Sleep is a horror thriller film directed by Gustavo Hernández. An international co-production of Spain, Argentina and Uruguay, the film stars Belén Rueda and Eva de Dominici.
The Chapel is a 2023 Spanish supernatural drama film directed by Carlota Pereda and co-written by Albert Bertran, Carmelo Viera, and Pereda which stars Belén Rueda and Maia Zaitegi.
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