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Close Your Eyes

Play trailer 2:00 Poster for Close Your Eyes 2024 2h 49m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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93% Tomatometer 74 Reviews Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Set in contemporary Madrid, an aging filmmaker named Miguel Garay is called upon to recount his memories of working on his final and still unfinished film, "The Farewell Gaze." During its production, the lead actor and Miguel's close friend, Julio Arenas, disappeared without a trace, leaving in his wake a mystery that would haunt the lives of everyone associated with the film. Miguel never directed another project, instead living a quiet life as a writer by the coast. He remained reluctant to unravel the mystery surrounding Julio until approached by an investigative television program reviving the case decades later. With careful reflection, he reconnects with the film's crew, former lovers, and Julio's daughter, seeking closure for the disappearance and what it meant for all of their lives.
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Close Your Eyes

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Critics Consensus

A near-masterpiece for director/co-writer Victor Erice, Close Your Eyes ends his long gap between films with a moving meditation on memory, identity, and cinema itself.

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Critics Reviews

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Leigh Singer Sight & Sound May 13, 2026
[As] characters gaze up at the screen, and out, perhaps for the final time, at their audience, it’s hard to envisage a more emotionally overwhelming farewell, if that’s what Close Your Eyes becomes, from a vital, too-often missing, force in world cinema. Go to Full Review Jacob Oller AV Club Oct 25, 2024
B+
Movies and mortality are linked throughout the engrossing three-hour drama. Go to Full Review Randy Myers San Jose Mercury News Sep 12, 2024
4/4
“Close Your Eyes” is a sad, delicate, powerful and beautiful gift to film fans. Go to Full Review Cameron Ritter Geek Vibes Nation Jul 20, 2025
9/10
Close Your Eyes is a surprisingly effective film that explores how art and life are intertwined, no matter how long it’s been since we last engaged with it. It will reinvigorate your love of cinema and how necessary it can be for the world. Go to Full Review David Bax Battleship Pretension May 16, 2025
The presentation of Close Your Eyes is gargantuanly filmic. Go to Full Review Fletcher Powell KMUW - Wichita Public Radio Apr 17, 2025
Close Your Eyes is exactly what I’d hoped for, which is to say, it left me nearly speechless. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Kyle M @RT77296778 Apr 11, 2026 A humanely carried premise that intrigues like "L’avventura" but resolves in similar straying focus by treading on memory and identity in a prehensible dive effectively adjacent to the unexpected attributive power of cinema, concluding ambiguously in loose confounding that somewhat attempts its own unneeded meta. (B) See more Tom F @RT55173143 Nov 21, 2025 A largely satisfying look at movies and memories. See more Alec B @Alec97 Feb 13, 2025 The movie meanders, sometimes in interesting ways and other times in ways that are frustrating, but its never boring. If you can stick it out, the ending is rewarding. See more Jake H @RT85206100 Dec 12, 2024 This really is an epic masterpiece. A plot within a plot within a life story. Beautifully filmed; some very (but not too) long scenes that would also work on stage, which are absorbing and immersive. And a storyline which might be a rollercoaster if compressed into an average-length film, but is instead a bumpy ride. I'm a perfectionist. I know it when I see it. This is it. Worth waiting for. See more TurnipDude87 C @RT73025589 Sep 1, 2024 An incredible film. A must-see and one of the best films I have watched in years. See more Read all reviews
Close Your Eyes

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Cast & Crew

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Víctor Erice

Director

Manolo Solo

Miguel Garay

José Coronado

Gardel

Ana Torrent

Ana Arenas

Petra Martínez

Sor Consuelo

María León

Belén Granados

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Close Your Eyes

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Movie Info

Synopsis Set in contemporary Madrid, an aging filmmaker named Miguel Garay is called upon to recount his memories of working on his final and still unfinished film, "The Farewell Gaze." During its production, the lead actor and Miguel's close friend, Julio Arenas, disappeared without a trace, leaving in his wake a mystery that would haunt the lives of everyone associated with the film. Miguel never directed another project, instead living a quiet life as a writer by the coast. He remained reluctant to unravel the mystery surrounding Julio until approached by an investigative television program reviving the case decades later. With careful reflection, he reconnects with the film's crew, former lovers, and Julio's daughter, seeking closure for the disappearance and what it meant for all of their lives.
Director
Víctor Erice
Screenwriter
Víctor Erice, Michel Gaztambide, Víctor Erice, Michel Gaztambide, José Alba
Distributor
Film Movement
Production Co
Tandem Films, Nautilusfilm
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Spanish
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 23, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 3, 2024
Box Office (Gross USA)
$44.1K
Runtime
2h 49m
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