The Eyes of My Mother

Plot

Francisca and her mother live on a farm where they raise cows and other animals. A trained surgeon, Francisca's mother teaches her how to remove eyeballs from farm animals, and is taught the legend of Francis of Assisi. Suddenly, Charlie, a door to door salesman, appears and asks to use her bathroom. Against her better judgment, Francisca's mother lets him into the house. After a struggle, Charlie kills Francisca's mother, with Charlie injured, presumably by Francisca's father, who arrives home while Charlie is still attacking the mother in the bathtub. Francisca and her father bury Francisca's mother in the backyard while holding Charlie captive in the barn. Charlie explains the incomparable thrill of killing others. Francisca then removes Charlie's eyes and vocal cords. Francisca explains to Charlie that he was not killed because he is her only friend and she will look after him. She chains him up and tortures him with her mother's surgical implements. Francisca's father later dies and is preserved by Francisca in the bathtub.

Years later, when Francisca becomes an adult, she meets Kimiko, a Japanese student, at a bar. Kimiko and Francisca return to Francisca's home but Kimiko is perturbed at Francisca's depiction of the death of her mother and father and tries to leave. She then murders Kimiko and chops her up. Charlie is also killed by Francisca as he tries to escape. Francisca goes hiking in the woods and catches a ride with Lucy back to the house. Lucy has a baby son who Francisca kidnaps upon reaching the house. Francisca stabs Lucy before praising her dead mother and keeping Lucy's son as her own child, who she names Antonio. Like Charlie, Lucy has her eyes and tongue cut out by Francisca. Antonio grows into a school age child and is shocked at seeing Lucy when he enters the barn, which he is told never to go into. Antonio later unlocks the barn and Lucy escapes. A trucker finds Lucy and police are called to the barn. Francisca is shown digging up the grave of her mother in the woods while talking to her skull. After holding her son as a hostage, Francisca is killed by the police.

Cast

Release

The Eyes of My Mother premiered in the NEXT section at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2016. It was acquired by Magnolia Pictures' foreign language film division Magnet Releasing. It will be released to select theaters and via iTunes, cable/satellite video on demand, and Amazon Video on December 2, 2016.

Reception

The Eyes of My Mother received a polarizing reception, with praise for its execution, but dividing reviewers on account of its graphic content. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently holds a score of 76%, based on 68 reviews, with an average of 6.7/10. The site's consensus states: "The Eyes of My Mother uses a shocking trauma to fuel a hauntingly hypnotic odyssey whose nightmarish chill lingers long after the closing credits." Metacritic reports a 64 out of 100 rating, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".