Product Details

• Actors:  Luis Tosar Laia Marull
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: Spanish (Unknown)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: New Yorker
• DVD Release Date: November 7, 2006
• Run Time: 106 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000HXDWOQ
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #120,184 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Take My Eyes" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Take My Eyes, a drama about a couple entangled in an abusive relationship, proves that Spanish Director Icíar Bollaín has studied the aggressor's mindset in order to portray the violent husband, Antonio (Luis Tosar) with a certain amount of sympathy. The film enlightens rather than enrages. Antonio, who beats his wife Pilar (Laia Marull), is a complex character overcome by his insecurity that Pilar will leave him. Take My Eyes opens on Pilar taking her son to live with her sister, safe from Antonio's uncontrolled anger. Antonio stalks Pilar, warning that he can't survive without her, then signs up for therapy. Conversely, Pilar is co-dependent, unable to see Antonio's cruelty because of her blind belief in the construct of marriage due to her mother's past, similar history with her deceased husband. Pilar's sister's wedding and Pilar's new job as a museum docent acquired in her effort to command independence exacerbates the couple's dilemma. Pilar returns to Antonio but a terrifying incident scares her permanently away from him. Throughout, one senses Pilar's impending danger, but the complexities of her and Antonio's arrangement, including her motherly role in their relationship, sheds light on domestic violence for those viewers who are baffled by it. Take My Eyes also explains how detrimentally far couples will go to stay together for their child. Well-acted and nicely written, Take My Eyes is a smart film about the horrors of abuse. The docudrama extra on this DVD, A Love That Kills, further delves into cruelty in a more educational setting, the counselor's office. --Trinie Dalton

Product Description

Beginning as an edge-of-your-seat noir thriller, a terrified Pilar hastily flees in the middle of the night with her young son as if her life depends on it. Reaching her Sister Ana’s house, Pilar breaks down in turmoil. Banging on Ana’s front door is Pilar’s husband, Antonio who in a fit of rage screams for Pilar to return home. But Pilar holds tight. With Ana’s support, Pilar is determined to save herself from Antonio’s rage. Settling in with Ana, Pilar begins a new career, and finds a greater sense of self. Yet the very passionate Antonio is far from a one-dimensional brute, and the bond between Pilar and Antonio is deep- tangling together love, eroticism, and submissiveness. Their relationship has always been a potent mix of love and anger.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Spanish Award Winner--"Take My Eyes" Is A Thoughtful, Intelligent Portrait Of Domestic Abuse, November 8, 2006

By 

K. Harris "Film aficionado" (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Take My Eyes (DVD)

Having never even heard of the Spanish film "Take My Eyes," I did a little research prior to watching it. I was amazed to see that it had actually won many international film prizes. It swept the Goya Awards (Spain's equivalent to the Oscar) in 2004, picking up Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Screenplay. Stateside, Luis Tosar even picked up Best Actor at the Seattle International Film Festival. Suitably impressed with this pedigree, I went into "Take My Eyes."

"Take My Eyes" is an intimate story of domestic abuse. It was particularly noteworthy in Spain where most domestic violence is unreported. It's not an "open" topic for discussion and not nearly as publicized there as it is in other countries. The story that it presents is one that American audiences are all too familiar with--and it breaks no new ground plotwise. What it does offer, however, are great performances and an earnest attempt to depict all sides of the situation.

Laia Marull is extremely potent and believable as the lead. She plays the faithful wife--and her love for her husband is just as well established as her fear. As she struggles to rebuild her life--you see her hope, optimism and happiness blossom. But you also see devastation and betrayal and finally hatred. It's an emotional tour de force. But where this film is unique and special is in the husband's character played by Luis Tosar. He is not a stock villain. He is sympathetic to a large degree as he honestly loves his wife but is unable to control his anger. Much of the film centers on his attempt to rehabilitate himself with therapy. I really appreciated this even handed approach. It was thoughtful and intelligent.

Seek this film out. It's a sensitive and astute portrait of one particular relationship. With strong performances and intelligent writing, this is a story that will stay with you. KGHarris, 11/06.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spousal Abuse: A Horrifyingly Real Story of the Consequences, March 12, 2007

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Take My Eyes (DVD)

TE DOY MIS OJOS (Take My Eyes) is a blisteringly real examination of spousal abuse - the etiology, the mechanisms, the concept of co-dependency, and the high rate of recidivism - all bound together in a brilliant screenplay by Alicia Luna and director Icíar Bollaín. It won many Goyas (read Oscars) in Spain and for good reason: this is a powerful film about an indelicate subject from a country (Spain) not usually comfortable discussing much less film such issues.

Pilar (Laia Marull) and her son Juan (Nicolás Fernández Luna) live in a small apartment with husband/father Antonio (Luis Tosar), a small section of hell where daily Antonio abuses Pilar with an uncontrollable anger. Pilar and Juan leave one night to live with Pilar's soon to be married sister Ana (Candela Peña) and fiance, a Scotsman John (David Mooney). Ana encourages Pilar to divorce the abusive Antonio but Pilar is frightened, fearing she has no means of support and admitting that there are parts of Antonio she still loves. Complicating Pilar's thinking is her mother Aurora (the fine Rosa Maria Sardà) who tries to underplay the problem by insisting that all marriages have their little problems! Antonio stalks Pilar, pleading for her to return, but every encounter results in a flair-up of Antonio's abusive behavior. Pilar finds a menial job at the museum in Toledo, a position she loves and soon is training to become a guide, loving speaking tot he public about art. Antonio agrees to seek help for his behavioral problems and enters group therapy and private therapy (Sergi Calleja) and begins bringing flowers and gifts and constant attention to Ana, hoping to have her return home. And return Ana does, with Juan, and with some newfound sense of self worth form her position at the museum. But as soon as Ana is 'home' a horrifying incident occurs and she gathers the strength to see the relationship clearly and respond correctly.

The cast of actors is brilliant, the pacing of the film keeps the viewer on seat's edge, the cinematography by Carles Gusi captures the magic of Toledo, Spain, the musical score by Alberto Iglesias is first rate classical writing, and the amount of information about a little understood problem is an additional reward that accompanies this superb film. The film is in Spanish with English subtitles and the DVD adds a featurette that further examines a treatment center for abusive men feels like a much needed public service ploy. This is one of those films that would be easy to ignore because of the subject matter, but that is a real reason to view it - in addition to the fact that it is such a fine work of art. Grady Harp, March 07

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An accurate depiction of domestic violence!, October 1, 2007

By 

Don Julio (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Te Doy Mis Ojos (Take My Eyes) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America] (DVD)

This movie provides an accurate depiction of the struggles a woman makes to seek a life of mutuality and respect while living with a man consumed by his own insecurities and need for power and control.