'Open Your Eyes'

I've seen this film and the American remake, the very underrated Vanilla Sky, over and over in order to see all the plot points in the flashback in addition to all the little things that I think make the film(s) pretty special.

There are the facial expressions, the words and tone of voice that the characters use. How things are said is very important due to all of the tense relationships and the fact that half the film is this guy's dream.

I think there are two characters who remain very ambiguous: Sofia and Pelayo. I don't think it's clear that Sofia and Pelayo are ever really "dating" or just going to a party together. Now, is it wrong to steal your buddy's date to a party? Sure. But, hell, you're the head honcho. And it's never clear whether or not Peyalo is really Cesar's real friend or if he's just maintaining good relations to maintain funding for his writing. Peyalo is a very untrustworthy "friend."

I think the most telling scene in the entire film is when Sofia agrees to meet Cesar, but winds up bringing along Peyalo. The trouble is that all the characters kind of talk out of both sides of their mouth. They say they are "OK" when they're really not. Sofia says she's OK with being around David and his disfigurement, but as earnest as Sofia is, I don't know if that's true.

Are Sofia and Peyalo uncomfortable because of the way Cesar looks or because he's such a self-hating, macho asshole?

The truth is that Sofia and Peyalo were going to leave Cesar behind in reality, the non-dream state, and that sucks no matter how you slice it. It was Cesar's dream to have these people love him. That to me is the acme of loneliness.