Open Your Eyes

A handsome young playboy (Eduardo Noriega) becomes infatuated with his best friend’s girl (Penelope Cruz); before he can make his move, a spurned lover drives her car into a wall with him in the passenger’s seat, killing herself and disfiguring him. That’s only the beginning in this wildly original psychological thriller from Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar (who co-wrote the fiendishly clever script with Mateo Gil). Amenabar seems to have a fresh surprise in store almost every minute—is the playboy losing his mind, or is his former lover not really dead?—and the razor-sharp twists and turns of the plot will keep you guessing right up to the very last seconds. An American re-make with, say, Keanu Reeves or Edward Norton is almost inevitable, but it’ll be hard-pressed to match Amenabar’s riveting original.