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Set in an isolated farm, The Eyes of My Mother follows Francisca (Kika Magalhães), a young woman that finds herself immersed in loneliness. The remoteness of her life, only accompanied by her father and mother, is hit by tragedy which only drives her further into stranger and darker things.
This film came highly recommended by @ThatDarnMKS, and it really didn't disappoint. Being the debut from director/writer Nicolas Pesce only made it more impressive. He has a way to patiently set the mood and create simple but disturbing images, but not necessarily with what he shows but rather what he implies. There really isn't much gore, but the implication of the things that happen is way worse.
Pesce uses deliberate camera movement and long takes to heighten that eerie and uneasy ambience. Plus, the black and white cinematography is gorgeous and gives a certain elegance to all the horrific things that are happening. That contrast of beauty and horror elevates what could've easily been an exploitative mess in less capable hands. The pace is slow, but I never felt it meandered or dragged. I suppose the 77 minute runtime also helps.
The film has a small cast of only a handful of significant characters, with Magalhães being the centerpiece. For a film with little dialogue, she manages to do a lot with expressions, looks, and body language, transmitting mixtures of confidence and insecurity, fear and trauma. Olivia Bond is also pretty good as the young Francisca, while Will Brill has a brief but unnerving performance. I also appreciated the way Pesce handled the character of the Father by mostly keeping him silent and in the background.
I still felt like something was missing, even if I can't fully put my finger on it. As disturbing and horrific as it is, I don't think I felt it hit me as hard as I was expecting or would've wanted. Regardless, The Eyes of My Mother is a finely crafted and harrowing portrayal of a lonely woman driven to the edges of sanity in strange ways, and I definitely look forward to more of Pesce's work.
Grade:
THE EYES OF MY MOTHER
(2016, Pesce)
(2016, Pesce)
"Loneliness can do strange things to the mind."
Set in an isolated farm, The Eyes of My Mother follows Francisca (Kika Magalhães), a young woman that finds herself immersed in loneliness. The remoteness of her life, only accompanied by her father and mother, is hit by tragedy which only drives her further into stranger and darker things.
This film came highly recommended by @ThatDarnMKS, and it really didn't disappoint. Being the debut from director/writer Nicolas Pesce only made it more impressive. He has a way to patiently set the mood and create simple but disturbing images, but not necessarily with what he shows but rather what he implies. There really isn't much gore, but the implication of the things that happen is way worse.
Pesce uses deliberate camera movement and long takes to heighten that eerie and uneasy ambience. Plus, the black and white cinematography is gorgeous and gives a certain elegance to all the horrific things that are happening. That contrast of beauty and horror elevates what could've easily been an exploitative mess in less capable hands. The pace is slow, but I never felt it meandered or dragged. I suppose the 77 minute runtime also helps.
The film has a small cast of only a handful of significant characters, with Magalhães being the centerpiece. For a film with little dialogue, she manages to do a lot with expressions, looks, and body language, transmitting mixtures of confidence and insecurity, fear and trauma. Olivia Bond is also pretty good as the young Francisca, while Will Brill has a brief but unnerving performance. I also appreciated the way Pesce handled the character of the Father by mostly keeping him silent and in the background.
I still felt like something was missing, even if I can't fully put my finger on it. As disturbing and horrific as it is, I don't think I felt it hit me as hard as I was expecting or would've wanted. Regardless, The Eyes of My Mother is a finely crafted and harrowing portrayal of a lonely woman driven to the edges of sanity in strange ways, and I definitely look forward to more of Pesce's work.
Grade: