Making the direction and scriptwriting of a film compatible is already a great virtue. Adding the musical composition to it on many occasions is an almost insulting demonstration of creative capacity. That is why the filmography of Alexander Amenabar offers us a diversity of stories in their most disparate forms of fiction. From suspense to historical setting, through fantasy with overtones of science fiction.
But of course, as here one has their tastes and greater desires for books or movies that border on the fantastic without leading to incomprehensible fantastic universes. And it's not that I disparage a good movie based on the genius of Tolkien , For example. But come on, if you can ramble while keeping your feet on the ground, then everything seems more plausible to me and the final fantasy that blows reality up into the air has more impact.
An Amenábar who lately seems to be heading to the series knows a lot about that. Demands of the times that run for all directors and the new markets between streaming platforms... Although guys like Amenábar always return from time to time to the big screen with successful productions, either in that historical aspect that this director also probes or with some new surprise on the threshold of the fantastic or chilling suspense.
Top 3 Recommended Movies by Alejandro Amenabar
The other
AVAILABLE ON ANY OF THESE PLATFORMS:Something strange happened with this film whose twist would have been a greater surprise, a brilliant bewilderment at the height of the best of Hitchcock. Shortly before the premiere of this movie, "The Sixth Sense" had already come out. And although the arguments diverged, in the end it was resolved in the same way, with the final effect that leaves the viewer speechless.
To add insult to injury, I think this film had a greater prior suspense component. Because the idea of ​​the house where the protagonists live locked up creates a much deeper feeling. The thing like home where to find rest. The family as the essential nucleus that safeguards us from all external aggression or violence. From there, the idea of ​​the approaching tragedy is always latent, of the more than possible arrival of a fatality that puts us on alert.
We do not want anything to happen to that special family that lives in the house because the symbol is ourselves in our homes. Without a doubt, the detail of the house wins over the more general presentation of "The Sixth Sense" where the plot unfolds without that maximum concentration of attention, like a magician about to execute the final trick...
Regression
AVAILABLE ON ANY OF THESE PLATFORMS:Just like he did Christopher Nolan In Memento, on this occasion Amenábar takes us (and abandons) us into the labyrinths of the mind, identity, memories and the subjective component of everything, even the most tragic or ominous.
Directing a film like this must be exhausting in terms of the perfect fit between the interpretation and the precise moment of a guadianesque plot that always undertakes surprising new paths, seeking that confusion (which sometimes distances the viewers) necessary to awaken the estrangement, the almost dreamlike empathy, the depersonalization that precedes madness where the truth is not discerned...
Minnesota, 1990. Detective Bruce Kenner (Ethan Hawke) investigates the case of young Angela (Emma Watson), who accuses her father, John Gray (David Dencik), of having abused her. When John, unexpectedly and without remembering what happened, admits his guilt, renowned psychologist Dr. Raines (David Thewlis) joins the case to help him revive repressed memories of him. What they discover unmasks a sinister conspiracy.
Open your eyes
AVAILABLE ON ANY OF THESE PLATFORMS:A film replicated in Hollywood with Tom Cruise himself at the helm and repeating his performance in the original and in its later version Penélope Cruz. The perfect opportunity for Amenábar to jump across the pond and make himself known in an American cinema where he is still a considered director.
As for the plot, as an allegory about beauty to the point of the Phantom of the Opera or perhaps even more to the point of a modern Dorian Gray who lived his days and especially his nights, enjoying that youth that seems eternal, beautiful, accommodating. And then visit the worst hells…
Cease (Edward Noriega) is a handsome and rich boy who likes women a lot, but very little commitment. However, at his birthday party he falls in love with SofÃa (Penélope Cruz), the companion of his best friend, Pelayo (Fele MartÃnez). Nuria (Najwa Nimri), a former lover of César, moved by jealousy causes a car accident in which she dies and César's face is completely disfigured. From that moment on, his life changes completely, turning into a horrible nightmare.