Neil BakerWatch Shine Your Eyes now on Netflix in the UK and Ireland.
The year is 1988, and the country is Nigeria; two young brothers lay talking, gazing into one another’s eyes as the sun streams through a window; the older brother Ikenna tells his younger brother Amadi that they are one, his soul reincarnated into his young brother. So starts Matias Mariani’s sophisticated and delicate journey into belonging, obsession and love, Shine Your Eyes. Following this brief glimpse of Amadi’s childhood, we are taken forward to Amadi (OC Ukeje) arriving in Sao Paulo; his mission is to find his older brother, Ikenna, who has been missing for months. Ikenna’s emails and letters home were full of his achievements as a data scientist, including a university professorship and a beautiful home. However, as Amadi digs into the stories Ikenna shared, all is not as it seemed.
The journey we are taken on in Matias Mariani’s poetic film challenges us to look beyond simple answers and ideas. Here, the streets of Sao Paulo become a character in their own right through Leonardo Bittencourt’s beautiful cinematography. Amadi’s slow awakening dovetails with the freedom, art and creativity of a city built on immigrants, colour and culture. However, for all its visual prowess and artistry, the real beauty of Shine Your Eyes sits in its discussions on freedom versus control and prophecy versus fortuity, as one brother finds freedom and the other finds a self-created prison.
Director: Matias Mariani
Cast: O.C. Ukeje, Paolo André, Barry Igujie, Chukwudi Iwuji
