Opening with the suicide of a blind woman, pursued by an ambiguous assailant, Julia’s Eyes instantly jars. Her identical twin, Julia, convinced there is more to the case than assumed by police, sets out to investigate, in a race against time—her vision is soon to be lost also, to the same degenerative eye disease that claimed her sister.
This second feature from Guillem Morales is something of a mixed bag; he just isn’t quite sure where to steer his story. Several plot twists keep us guessing, however this device is overused, and the final of these is bizarre, undoing much of the work accomplished. However, Belén Rueda is excellent as the titular character, and the film’s other strength is in its cinematography; some of the shots are beautiful, in particular a lovely chase sequence, complemented by very clever lighting.
All in all, too ambitious for so early in a career, however Morales should be noted for the future.
First published in movieScope 22
Julia’s Eyes opens today
