Staring at Strangers

Staring at Strangers (Spanish: No mires a los ojos,^[1] known early in the production stage as From the Shadows; Desde la sombra)^[2] is a 2022 Spanish-Belgian thriller drama film directed by Félix Viscarret adapting the Juan José Millás' novel Desde la sombra. Its cast is led by Paco León, Leonor Watling, Àlex Brendemühl and María Romanillos.

Staring at Strangers
Theatrical release poster
Spanish	No mires a los ojos
Directed by	Félix Viscarret
Written by	Félix Viscarret David Muñoz
Based on	Desde la sombra by Juan José Millás
Produced by	Gerardo Herrero
Starring	Paco León Leonor Watling Àlex Brendemühl María Romanillos Susana Abaitua Juan Diego Botto Marcos Ruiz
Cinematography	Álvaro Gutiérrez
Edited by	Victoria Lammers
Music by	Mikel Salas
Production companies	Tornasol Desde la Sombra Árbol A.I.E. Entre Chien et Loup
Distributed by	Universal Pictures International Spain
Release dates	22 October 2022 (2022-10-22) (Seminci) 4 November 2022 (2022-11-04) (Spain)
Countries	Spain Belgium
Language	Spanish

Plot

Damián has just been fired after 20 years working in the same company. His furious and somewhat violent reaction leads him to run to escape from his boss and hide from him in the first place he finds when leaving the office: a closet loaded into the[van. The closet with Damián inside is delivered to the house of Lucía and Fede, a couple who lives with their daughter, María. That same night, an unexpected impulse leads Damián to stay with the family to become a mysterious presence that he will observe and move from the shadows.^[3][4] From then on, Damián becomes the family's guardian angel.^[5]

Cast

• Paco León as Damián^[6]
• Leonor Watling as Lucía^[6]
• Àlex Brendemühl as Fede^[6]
• María Romanillos [es] as María^[7]
• Susana Abaitua as Paula^[8]
• Juan Diego Botto as Sergio O'Kane^[8]
• Iñaki Gabilondo as Iñaki Gabilondo^[8]
• Marcos Ruiz [es]^[6]

Production

An adaptation of Juan José Millás' novel Desde la sombra, the film was penned by Félix Viscarret [es] (the director) alongside David Muñoz.^[9][5] It is a joint Spanish-Belgian international co-production, produced by Tornasol and Desde la Sombra Árbol A.I.E., alongside Entre Chien et Loup, with the participation of RTVE and Movistar+.^[10] Shooting began in January 2021 in Pamplona,^[11] and it had already wrapped in March 2021.^[9][12]

Release

Staring at Strangers had its world premiere as the opening film of the 67th Valladolid International Film Festival (Seminci) on 22 October 2022.^[13][14] It is set for a 4 November 2022 theatrical release in Spain.^[15] Upon the film's release, lead actor Paco León described his character as "nearly Galician" to imply the character's introverted nature (in a deviation from the actor's traditional comedy roles), ensuingly eliciting controversy and public scrutiny.^[16]

Reception

Beatriz Martínez of El Periódico de Catalunya rated the "strange and risky" Staring at Strangers film 4 out of 5 stars, otherwise pointing out how it is a picture "full of findings, twists, and turns" in which the spectators somehow all become voyeurs.^[17]

Andrea G. Bermejo of Cinemanía rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, bringing attention to Leonor Watling "in the best role of her career".^[18]

María Bescós of HobbyConsolas rated Staring at Strangers with 73 points ("good"), writing that it "is a feature film with a very unpleasant protagonist, who constantly puts you in uncomfortable situations, making you wonder about the reason for his crazy situations" which "manages to oppress and intrigue you until it ends".^[7]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2023	2nd Carmen Awards	Best Actor	Paco León	Nominated	^[19]^[20]
	78th CEC Medals	Best Adapted Screenplay	David Muñoz, Félix Viscarret	Nominated	^[21]
	37th Goya Awards	Best Adapted Screenplay	David Muñoz, Félix Viscarret	Nominated	^[22]

See also

• List of Spanish films of 2022

References

1. "Just Spainted. Winter/Spring 2022. New Spanish Films" (PDF). ICAA. p. 120. Retrieved 21 April 2022 – via Audiovisual451.
2. Stegmeier, Ion (25 November 2021). "Cinco empresas se unen para crear una factoría de cine en Berrioplano". Diario de Navarra.
3. Jiménez, Jesús (8 February 2021). "Félix Viscarret rueda 'Desde la sombra', basada en la novela de Juan José Millás". rtve (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 October 2021.
4. . El Correo (in Spanish). 5 February 2021. Archived from the original on 12 February 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
5. Hopewell, John (30 November 2020). "'Patria' Director Felix Viscarret to Direct Paco Leon, Leonor Watling in 'From the Shadows' (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
6. "La grata vida soñada de los desconocidos". Fotogramas (in Spanish). 26 February 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
7. Bescós, María (31 October 2022). "Crítica de No mires a los ojos, una película con Paco León en su papel más desagradable". HobbyConsolas.
8. "Te invitamos al preestreno de 'No mires a los ojos' el próximo 25 de octubre en Sevilla". Diario de Sevilla. Grupo Joly. 20 October 2022.
9. "Félix Viscarret adapta a Millás y su realidad desde el "otro lado del espejo"". eldiario.es (in Spanish). 9 March 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
10. "Félix Viscarret rueda en Pamplona su nuevo largometraje 'Desde la sombra'". Audiovisual451 (in Spanish). 3 February 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
11. "Félix Viscarret inicia el rodaje en Pamplona de 'Desde la sombra'". Diario de Pamplona (in Spanish). 19 January 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
12. "Adaptaciones literarias (I): próximas películas españolas inspiradas en novelas". Audiovisual451 (in Spanish). 17 March 2021.
13. "Paco León aborda nuevos tonos interpretativos en 'No mires a los ojos': "Ojalá sea una inflexión en mi carrera"". Diario de Valladolid. 22 October 2022.
14. "'No mires a los ojos', protagonizada por Paco León, inaugurará el Festival de Cine de Valladolid". Mundo Deportivo. Grupo Godó. 1 September 2022.
15. Aller, María (26 April 2022). "Las películas españolas que llegarán en 2022". Fotogramas. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
16. "Paco León la lía al calificar a su último personaje como "casi gallego"". Atlántico. 4 November 2022.
17. Martínez, Beatriz (3 November 2022). "'No mires a los ojos': Paco León, un fantasma en mi armario". El Periódico de Catalunya.
18. Bermejo, Andrea G. (31 October 2022). "Crítica de 'No mires a los ojos'". Cinemanía – via 20minutos.es.
19. Martínez, Evaristo (14 December 2022). "'Controverso' opta a dos Carmen, que anuncian sus candidatos desde Almería". La Voz de Almería.
20. "Modelo 77 triunfa en los Carmen: Así ha quedado el palmarés". Ideal. Grupo Vocento. 5 February 2023.
21. "'As bestas' y 'Cinco lobitos', las más nominadas a las Medallas CEC". Cine con Ñ. 15 December 2022.
22. "Ganadores de los Premios Goya 2023: lista completa de premiados en la gala". Cadena SER. 12 February 2023.