Staring at Strangers (No Mires a Los Ojos)

It’s easy to understand a child’s fit of pique if they get angry or upset and hid in a wardrobe; that’s the prerogative of childhood. It’s just about feasible for an adult to do the same if they are in mortal danger. But as is the case here Damián (Paco León) after getting fired, throwing a tantrum at carpentry where he works, runs off and hides in a wardrobe that gets transported to grand home in the countryside.

The wardrove used to belong to Lucía’s (Leonor Watling) grandparents and had great emotional significance to her as the viewer will find out at the film progresses. At the moment for her husband Fede (Alex Brendemühl) sees it as an eyesore but indulges his wife. Daughter María (María Romanillos) is far more concerned with other matters.

Finding his way from the wardrobe under the bed and back again, Damián decides to stay. And during the day rummages around the home and does the breakfast dishes much to the surprise of Lucia. And he goes beyond that, fixing things – almost like the shoe-making elves of the fairytale. What begins to dawn on him is that Lucía has deep seated issues to do the death of her twin at a very young age that relate directly to the wardrobe.

However as time goes on Damián begins to take a more direct role in the family’s affairs dealing with María’s no-good boyfriend and even Fede’s philandering. All the while this is told through an interview that Damián is having with a gossipy chat show host Sergio (Juan Diego Botto) more concerned with ratings than anything else.

A macabre tale, that at its root looks at the crippling mental effects of loneliness and grief, laced with jealousy and an unhealthy dose of hubris. Initially told from Damien’s perspective all the viewer sees are the family’s legs and feet, deflected reflections in mirrors until eventually they are revealed just as Damien has got to know them and their foibles.

It’s a dysfunctional family that writers Juan José Millás and David Muñoz, and director Félix Viscarret assemble and manipulate with some glee. Especially with the at times quite loathsome Damián who should generate some sympathy but with his own sense of domain that he has created and the sense of entitlement that goes with it, it soon drains away.

The manipulated family aren’t that much better though its Lucía who at least throws an empathic line to the audience. Otherwise Staring At Strangers comes over as a terrific exercise in writing and directing dynamics if somewhat emotionally hollow.

Staring at Strangers was presented at the London Spanish Film Festival 2023