Sightlines · reception
How Open Your Eyes was received
1997 · Alejandro Amenábar · Open Your Eyes on Sightlines
The arc
A hit in Spain and a festival favorite in 1997-98, it spent years overshadowed by its Hollywood remake Vanilla Sky — but the tide has fully turned, and it's now routinely cited as the superior original and a precursor to the late-90s reality-bending thriller wave.
What’s debated
The eternal fan debate is Abre los ojos vs. Vanilla Sky — cinephiles love pulling rank with 'the Spanish original is better,' while a vocal minority defends Cameron Crowe's remake as its own thing.
Its footprint
It lives on through its remake pipeline: Tom Cruise saw it at Sundance, bought the rights, and turned it into Vanilla Sky — and its eerie image of a man alone on an emptied Gran Vía in Madrid was reborn as Cruise running through a deserted Times Square.
Where it stands
A Letterboxd-era gateway film — the 'watch the original first' recommendation that doubles as an entry point to Amenábar and 90s Spanish cinema.
Did you know? Penélope Cruz played the same character, Sofía, in both this film and the 2001 Hollywood remake Vanilla Sky — one of the rare cases of an actor reprising their role across an original and its remake.