The Eyes of My Mother (2016)

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Movies like this is the reason why some people despise art in general.

The Eyes of My Mother is director Nicolas Pesce's directorial debut, and an impressive one at that. It's an extremely intentional black & white art-house horror film, with more attention to detail than gore throughout.The story centers around Francisca (played by Olivia Bond first and then Kika Magalhães who was particularly awesome), a young girl whose quiet, simple life is turned upside-down by the murder of her mother (Diana Agostini) and, shortly after, the passing of her father (Paul Nazak).** SPOILERS! **I thought the choice of black and white was excellent. There were many scenes that played out like beautiful, striking photographs set in motion. It also dulled the gore (that was more plentiful now that I think about it in retrospect than I honestly noticed in the moment) while letting us focus on more of the emotion (or lack thereof) in the more brutal scenes. But some shots, like Francisca climbing into the tub while bathing her father's body, are made into pure heartbreaking art by the color choice.Charlie (Will Brill), the man who kills Francisca's mother with an unabashed enthusiasm that was disturbing to see, was a great character that I almost wish we saw more of. He just immediately made me feel uncomfortable even before having any inkling of his true intentions.Each scene — every single one — felt very intentionally placed and timed. Nothing was left out, and nothing was there just as a frill… it was meticulously planned.Francisca both as a child and as an older teenager (we're never really sure of her true age but she seems to be 20 at the oldest) has this detached fascination about her. You get the sense that she's barely ever had to focus on anyone but herself. Her mother's mention of "loneliness can do strange things to the mind" couldn't be more apt. She works in silence, methodically playing out some truly twisted acts with the casual mood one might have while slicing a cucumber (I didn't mean for that comparison to be so accurate but there it is), and yet there's such a desperation about her, such a yearning to be less alone, and an unwillingness, or inability, to see how her desires affect others. Her stealing the woman's baby was another example: watching her cuddle and coo at the baby, finally having someone who will be forced to be her companion, as the child's mother crawled, gasping, towards her was chilling.One of the few times she breaks this blankness is when she finally kills Charlie after he escapes from the barn. Her stabbing him is almost sensual, especially as she rubs his hair and kisses his neck, and it made it one of the most disturbing murder scenes I've seen in a LONG timeUltimately, less is more, and Pesce really knew how to use that to his advantage with a brilliant combination of artful shots, a heartbreaking desire to ease pain and loneliness, and unapologetic views of violence and sadism, a sort of Americana-gone- very-wrong.

As far as "conventional" horror goes, this couldn't be more different. It's worlds apart in regards to what we tend to label as horror — no jump scares, no boogeyman to run from, and a distinct lack of gratuitous gore has allowed this film to standout as a genuine psychological terror. It's slow in the progression of plot, but the time it takes works as a boon in the long run. In creating a space of total isolation and loneliness, we're allowed to witness the full transformation of a traumatized (and, admittedly, thoroughly maladjusted) child into a young woman that doesn't have a grasp on the reality that exists outside her bubble of delusion. The meticulous nature of this slow burn story is an honest reminder that this is horror at its most human: this could easily be a reality for any of us.

For a horror movie I see that The Eyes Of My Mother gets a high rating on here. But it doesn't deserve that rating in my opinion. It's a mediocre horror movie with a very slow story. It's just hard to stay awake, even with the couple bloody scenes. Well not red blood but black and white since this movie is shot in black and white. I don't know why they do such a thing because to me it certainly doesn't bring anything to the movie. Maybe they thought it would be darker or so but to me it didn't work. The idea of the story isn't bad though. It's just the execution that fails. If it would be shot in color and if it wouldn't be that slow, with also a bit more gory details it could have been a better movie. But like it is now it's just not interesting enough to be remembered.