Close Your Eyes (Cerrar los ojos)

"TRISTE LE ROY" SURROUNDINGS OF PARIS, AUTUMN, 1947

Monsieur Franch is here.

Punctual, just the way I like it.

Show him in, Lin Yu.

Lin Yu, the tea, please.

I've ordered tea. Would you rather something else?

- Something stronger, perhaps? - No, tea is fine, thank you.

Did you have any issues finding the place?

A little.

I was told... you didn't come by car.

No. I took the train.

I'm curious about something, Monsieur Lévy.

That name, Triste Le Roy, where does it come from?

I chose the name,

but I didn't invent it myself.

I found it in a story I read.

It was very interesting.

The story I mean.

Chess is a reflection of the world.

All my life I've been a keen chess player.

And on the board,

the king,

don't ask me why,

has always seemed to me like

a sad piece in relation to the others.

Perhaps it's why I liked the name so much when I first saw it.

Triste Le Roy.

The sad king.

Beautiful, isn't it?

So it's the name I gave this chateau.

I bought it many years ago, on a whim.

I never actually thought I would live here.

I was even about to sell it at one point.

I'm glad I didn't.

Don't worry.

Of all the people that have passed through my life,

I have only preserved Lin Yu.

He sees everything, hears everything.

but he will never say a word.

A wise man.

- Then we can start. - Yes, yes.

Yes.

Monsieur Franch, I called you because

I would like you to do something for me.

I want you to find someone.

And if I might ask, why me?

You know there are professionals...

who take care of these kinds of matters.

Professionals are all very well for

solving certain kinds of problems, the most obvious ones.

But when it's something more subtle, let's say,

then they aren't much use at all.

For example,

they know nothing about

fighting for an ideal,

whereas you do.

That's why I have the feeling I can trust you.

Well, that's not the only reason.

Money came in to it too.

I don't take these things lightly.

I did my research before calling you.

I know first-hand

that you saved many of my people

from falling into the hands of the Gestapo, by helping them cross the Pyrenees.

You're tired of fighting.

And you'd like to live a normal life.

Isn't that true?

Depends what you mean by a normal life.

You and I may differ there.

I'm talking about what the majority of people desire:

A job, a family, good health,

good friends...

Sounds familiar?

- Yes, of course but... - Do you mean to say...

you've never had any of that?

I did,

but it lasted a very short time.

Well, well, would you believe it?

We have something in common.

Yes, you're tired.

And I don't care if you want to admit it or not.

I can tell.

There's no need to be embarrassed.

You lost your war...

And General Franco isn't going anywhere any time soon.

Yes, go ahead and smoke.

Actually, it's a good idea.

I think I'll join you.

I think breathing in some smoke

will do me good.

No, thank you.

I'm the only one to smoke cigars in this house.

It would be a real pity to lose

such a pleasure.

It's my duty to not let that happen.

Let's get to the point.

Monsieur Franch,

if you accomplish the mission I give you,

I am prepared to help you rebuild your life.

You'll get back what you had and lost.

And above all, you'll be doing a good deed.

You may even earn a spot in Heaven.

I think we'll leave the last one.

For another occasion.

Thank you, Lin Yu.

Don't try and play the tough guy with me, Monsieur Franch.

Deep down, all Anarchists are Christians.

They don't fool me. You know why?

Because I'm a Jew. Sephardic.

I was born in Tangier.

But my ancestors

had always kept the key to the family home...

It was in Toledo.

I've changed my name four times.

Levy has been the longest-lasting,

but also the heaviest to carry.

I suppose it's the name I'll be buried with.

The doctors have been very stingy with me.

And only given me a few months to live.

So I have no time to waste.

Monsieur Franch,

I want you to go to Shanghai.

To look for someone.

If you find them,

your mission will be to bring them back here.

I want you to see something.

It may not be of much use, but anyway...

it's the only thing of hers I still have.

She's my daughter.

When this photo was taken, her name was... Judith.

She must be 14 by now.

Her mother's name is Cheng Jing.

She used to work at the Theater of the Cats,

that's where I met her.

Her favorite number,

and what gave her a certain fame,

she always finished with a gesture.

The Shanghai Gesture.

I used to sing

the songs that I learned as a boy to Judith,

but her mother taught her that gesture.

That gesture.

Cheng Jing changed my daughter's name.

She named her Qiao Shu.

And then she took her away.

I never saw either of them again.

No.

No.

Keep it.

And... above all.

Don't lose it.

Judith...

is the only person in the world who carries my blood.

You understand, don't you?

I know you also have a daughter.

I want to see mine. Monsieur Franch.

Please, find her.

May I ask why you feel the need to do this.

After so much time has passed?

You have a good head on you, Monsieur Franch.

I have spent my whole life.

With people around me, night and day,

and I've always had to pretend.

You have no idea how tiring that is.

But that's over now.

So... I'm going to tell the truth.

I want you to find my daughter,

because she's the only person in the world.

Who looks at me differently,

uniquely.

That's all I want from her:

I want to see that gaze one last time before I die.

Her gaze.

Nothing more.

Very well, Monsieur Lévy.

I will go to Shanghai.

"He was called Julio Arenas.

"This is one of the last shots of his acting career.

"He disappeared in 1990,

"while working on The Farewell Gaze ,

"the movie that never existed.

"He was presumed dead,

but his body was never found."

MADRID, AUTUMN, 2012

Good morning. Please, the program "Unresolved Cases"?

- Come this way, I'll open. - Thanks.

UNRESOLVED CASES

The audition's downstairs.

I'm Miguel Garay, I've got an appointment with Marta Soriano.

One moment.

Marta, Miguel Garay is here.

Come in, Miguel.

It's more or less what we spoke about over the phone.

One amount for your time and the interview tomorrow,

and another for the rights to the film material.

It's amazing there's still anything left.

It's not much. Only two, full sequences.

Almost the only thing we had time to shoot.

In good condition?

I think so, but I want to check it.