Within the first few scenes of "The Eyes of My Mother", we are confronted with one of the most disturbing and terrifying scenes in years. A young woman who works with her mother and father on a farm sits as her mother is brutally murdered in the room next to her, not moving or reacting, only to have her father come home and kill that man. What truly makes this scene as disturbing as it is, is how distant and detached the cinematography and editing make these scenes feel. There is no music in these scenes, and the murder isn't shown extensively, but rather briefly glimpsed at, before cutting to Francisca, the young girl, scrubbing her mother's blood off the floor.
The film is essentially a character study of this young girl, told in a structure that is strangely similar to this year's "Moonlight" (although an entirely different type of film). The first part covers her as a young girl after her mother's murder and her father's enslavement of her murderer, which slowly turns into Francisca's enslavement of her murderer. Her mother was an eye surgeon, and would often dissect cows with Francisca, making her far too comfortable with gore, which is only perpetuated by her murder and then the enslavement of her murderer. She begins to essentially use him as an animal, and pretty much turns him into an animal, depriving him of his sight and voice without flinching. She is completely isolated except for with her father. That changes when he dies, sending her into a descent further into madness.
The film is incredibly disturbing, possibly one of the most disturbing I have ever seen, and this is largely due to how the cinematography and editing almost mirrors the main character's point of view. There are many long, static shots without music, viewing horrible acts as flatly and coldly as the main character does. On top of this, the film often doesn't focus particularly on the murders, cutting to after it has taken places. This gives a sense that this horrible act is simply trivial for this main character. The stark black and white aids this sense of detachment.
The exploration of this character throughout the film is disturbing and hard to watch, but incredibly well realized and well written, with just enough subtlety and ambiguity in the character to give her depth. The film is painfully realistic and doesn't shy away from the psychological horrors of trauma, isolation, and helplessness.
The film is essentially a character study of this young girl, told in a structure that is strangely similar to this year's "Moonlight" (although an entirely different type of film). The first part covers her as a young girl after her mother's murder and her father's enslavement of her murderer, which slowly turns into Francisca's enslavement of her murderer. Her mother was an eye surgeon, and would often dissect cows with Francisca, making her far too comfortable with gore, which is only perpetuated by her murder and then the enslavement of her murderer. She begins to essentially use him as an animal, and pretty much turns him into an animal, depriving him of his sight and voice without flinching. She is completely isolated except for with her father. That changes when he dies, sending her into a descent further into madness.
The film is incredibly disturbing, possibly one of the most disturbing I have ever seen, and this is largely due to how the cinematography and editing almost mirrors the main character's point of view. There are many long, static shots without music, viewing horrible acts as flatly and coldly as the main character does. On top of this, the film often doesn't focus particularly on the murders, cutting to after it has taken places. This gives a sense that this horrible act is simply trivial for this main character. The stark black and white aids this sense of detachment.
The exploration of this character throughout the film is disturbing and hard to watch, but incredibly well realized and well written, with just enough subtlety and ambiguity in the character to give her depth. The film is painfully realistic and doesn't shy away from the psychological horrors of trauma, isolation, and helplessness.