I Miei Occhi (My Eyes) takes viewers on a cryptic ride through an urban Italian setting. A woman (Kseniya Rappoport) sitting in the driver’s seat of her vehichle, drives towards her intentions for the day – a young street performer (João Farina). Whatever he means to her, she has located him with a heavy heart. “They are my eyes,” she tells an unknown friend over her cellphone. A lost love or possibly a lost relative, the runaround escalates the doubt with every turn. Maybe that’s enough to sustain the 20 minute short or maybe it’s not, but if emotion qualifies, Tommaso Acquarone’s Oscar-qualifying film definitely measures up.
So feeling the enclosure of the compact car, her situation feels as though she is imprisoned in a jail of her own making. A panoramic look through her windshield doesn’t seem to offer an escape either.
An overcast, drizzly day, Andrea Benjamin Manenti sends an unsettling message with his cinematographic haze. She has the chance to drive out of the darkness, but no matter what she does, the light will never be bright enough.
Nonetheless, the 30 to 40 Something pauses and fidgets are in wait of whether to act. The young performer picks up the baton instead, and his approach to her car doesn’t necessarily imply that he knows her. Running off, familiarity seems not to be the case, but too much for her either way, she maneuvers her car away from his weighty presence.
Cutting away, she takes a not so effective respite by the side of the road, and dragging hard on her cigarette, the choices that got her here come across in Rappoport’s pained wince. The ring of the phone doesn’t seem to help either, and going unanswered, the driver signals that there’s a lot in play and just as much to deal with.
Another drag on her cigarette, the protagonist knows she must resume, and stepping outside her mobile prison cell, some much needed fresh air gives her the strength to get back on the road. Thus, she returns to the scene of the original crime and coaxes the young man into her car.
Not so hard, Farina’s easy compliance shows us a character who just rolls with life and makes due as the free spirit that he is. The everyday scenery passing by and the familiar sounds of the road setting a tone, we understand she probably knew his tendencies already. Reinforcing the sentiment, the couple flirts, laughs and doubles down the now obvious past connection.
At the same time, there are subtle clues that back what we see between the two, and so are hints that imply why she can’t give into her feelings. The biggest one comes from the point of view in which the film is shot. All from the backseat, it’s as if the camera is sitting in judgment and trying to make sense of this relationship.
Just like us, and by the time the screen goes black, Rappoport’s tortured demeanor solidifies the clues. There’s a real life drama in this deeply layered encounter, and the upheaval we see in the film, is far from being resolved.
