A film that plays with deception. Trompe-l’œil is, in itself, a pictorial genre designed to play with and create elements of confusion in the viewer’s perception. The film takes us through the streets of Madrid in search of these ingredients, but it also cooks them in its own cinematic recipe.
Starting with the opening credits, when Elena Duque puts googly eyes on the two O’s of the word “ojitos”, it’s quite clear what kind of playful method the director will use in this short film: wordplay, the literalisation of double meanings, the (handled) manipulation of the image and the playful questioning of representation systems. From then on, there are many surprises: nothing is as it seems (the eyes lie…) and the image gradually breaks down, losing its indexical value until it becomes pure iconography. From photography to urban trompe-l’oeil (buildings under construction disguised by tarpaulins with imaginary façades), passing through the image within the image, projection within the film, the shadow (as a primitive image) and, of course, the mirror, Elena Duque summons up all the visual devices to reflect – humorously – on the transformative power of the gaze (and of the film cameras). (Ricardo Vieira Lisboa)
