Set in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Shine Your Eyes is a thrilling film rooted in Nigerian culture, fused with Science fiction elements.
- Shine Your Eyes Movie Snapshot
- Shine Your Eyes Plot Summary.
- Shine Your Eyes Critic’s Review.
Shine Your Eyes Movie Snapshot
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Sci-fi
Director: Matias Marani
Country: Brazil
Released: 2020
Run Time: 102 min
Shine Your Eyes Plot Summary
We are immediately thrust into the vast and overwhelming city of São Paulo, as seen through Amadi’s (O.C. Ukeje) eyes. He is trying to find his missing brother, Ikenna (Chukwudi Iwuji). He begins his search at the University of São Paulo, where he lectures.
This leads to a dead end when he discovers that his brother may be living a completely different life from what he and his family back home had imagined. With this new complication, he embarks on the impossible task of trying to find his brother in this foreign city. What starts as a physical search for his elder brother turns into a psychological journey, trying to piece together clues left behind by his brother.
Shine Your Eyes Review
Cinematography plays a pivotal role in storytelling. For Shine Your Eyes, it especially serves as an emotional tool that communicates Amadi’s experience in São Paulo. Shots of the city’s high rises and crowded interior spaces communicate his feelings of isolation, alienation and overwhelm. Amadi looks small and lost in this big and bustling city. It further feeds into the mystery at the story’s core, trying to find Ikenna in the city that swallowed him. Ukeje and Uwuji’s performances shed light on the familial expectations for firstborn sons within the Nigerian context. Their relationship also offers insight into the expectations and ideas of success abroad versus what that looks like in reality.
Chika Anadu’s signature theme in her writing is evident in her focus on family and tradition. Just as Amadi has to connect the series of coincidences to find his brother’s whereabouts, he creatively introduces concepts of Sci-fi and magical realism. This is an African film that goes beyond the genres of African cinema. Available to stream on Netflix and Mubi.
