Close Your Eyes

Play trailer

2:00

Close Your Eyes

2024

2h 49m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

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.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

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

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

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Víctor Erice

Director

Manolo Solo

Miguel Garay

José Coronado

Gardel

Ana Torrent

Ana Arenas

Petra Martínez

Sor Consuelo

María León

Belén Granados

Overwhelm the Sky

100%

%

Overwhelm the Sky

Watchlist

Scuba

%

%

Scuba

Watchlist

Sentimental Value

95%

94%

Sentimental Value

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Sentimental Value

The Box

92%

85%

The Box

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Box

Aattam

100%

96%

Aattam

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Close Your Eyes: Trailer 1

2:00

Now Playing

View more videos

View more photos

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

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings