Shine Your Eyes
By Jennifer Green,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Brazil-set tale has mature themes of family, immigration.
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Shine Your Eyes
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What's the Story?
Amadi (OC Ukeje) is sent by his mother from Nigeria to Brazil to find his brother, Ikenna (Chukwudi Iwuji), a math professor who has fallen out of contact with his family, in SHINE YOUR EYES. Ikenna is the beloved first-born, and in that role he shoulders numerous familial responsibilities back home. Upon arrival in Sao Paulo, Amadi discovers that nothing is as Ikenna has portrayed it in his emails and photos home. Amadi stays with an uncle and forges close relationships with Ikenna's friends as he searches for his brother. Clues suggest Ikenna has not only been misrepresenting his life in Brazil, but may also be losing his hold on reality. Does Ikenna have rational explanations for his behavior? Will Amadi find his brother and take him home to Nigeria, or will the new life Amadi is discovering in Sao Paulo pull him in as well?
Is It Any Good?
This is a sensitive and thoughtful movie that invites the viewer to decipher themes and ideas suggested in both the story and the way it's filmed. Responsibility for this tale ringing true rests entirely on the shoulders of actor OC Ukeje, who plays Amadi. We view this foreign city, Sao Paulo, through his eyes, and as the star of just about every scene in the film, Ukeje deftly communicates his character's internal struggles with family and culture as well as the foreigner's wonder, confusion, apprehension, and need to trust in others.
Director Matias Mariani underscores these conflicting sensations by conspicuously framing characters within the triangular angles of Sao Paulo's urban constructions. Set up as a mystery, the untangling of the missing brother's circumstances is much less interesting than Amadi's own journey of discovery. That may be why the relationships Amadi forms in Sao Paulo and his own internal battles make for compelling storylines that carry Shine Your Eyes, while a scene of reunion toward the end meant to be climactic feels a little disappointing.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Shine Your Eyes' setting in Sao Paulo, Brazil. What do you know about this city and country? Is what you saw on screen anything like what you might have imagined?
Amadi and Ikenna are from the Nigerian ethnic group called the Igbo people. What customs or ideas specific to their culture did you gather from this film? How could you learn more?
What did you think of the decisions Amadi makes at the end of the film? Would you have done things differently? Why or why not?
There are many scenes shot from interesting angles above, outside, or inside of buildings and roadways. Did you notice any of these specifically? What do you think the director was trying to convey with this framing?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: July 29, 2020
- Cast: O.C. Ukeje , Paolo André , Barry Igujie
- Director: Matias Mariani
- Inclusion Information: Latino directors, Black actors
- Studio: February Films
- Genre: Drama
- Topics: Brothers and Sisters , Friendship
- Run time: 102 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: September 24, 2023
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