Mastermind Yeo Siew Hua opens the Pandora Box of privacy violations and surveillance hazards involving both victims and predators, with a finale that could move mountains at the 81st Venice Film Festival, establishing it as a strong contender for the coveted Golden Lion Award.
Sitting on a swing at my grandmother’s house in the quiet dawn, nearing the late hours of the night, I would watch my neighbor prepare dinner through her transparent window. Some days, she would welcome her family for a seven-course meal, while other times, she would be alone, slicing a piece of papaya as she watched her favorite show. It was therapeutic to witness how each day brought peace, not just for her but for everyone, back in the early ’90s when checking in on neighbors and friends felt calm, and the corners of the world seemed safe. Those are memories of a simpler time, before the world was shaken by the rapid advance of technology, which now peers into everyone’s lives, constantly recording our every move with its many eyes.
Michael Haneke’s Caché serves as an introspective branch supporting Yeo Siew Hua’s mystery-thriller Stranger Eyes. Junyang (Wu Chien-Ho, from A Sun) and Peiying (Anicca Panna), a married couple, find themselves in crisis after discovering that their daughter, Little Bo, has gone missing. Junyang approaches the situation with deep confusion, struggling to comprehend how it could have happened, while Peiying, more detail-oriented, searches through her digital video albums for any clue she may have missed. A subtle conflict between them colors their conversations, hinting at a possible disconnection rooted in past events. Given the modern view that often frames marriage as an ongoing battle between the sexes, this tension feels particularly relatable in the wake of such a devastating tragedy. Junyang’s mother tries to find the child by distributing flyers and asking around, but her efforts are met with the community’s reserved nature. Then, a DVD arrives at their doorstep, containing clips of Junyang and Little Bo in a shopping mall. This discovery breaks open a vault of vulnerability, pushing the couple into a spiral of despair and realization. Little do they know, this is only the beginning.
More than just the couple’s disbelief, we, the audience, are pulled into a well of unease, as the truth begins to seep out from hidden corners, exposing details and undermining trust in the surveillance systems that track us all. Yeo Siew Hua’s intricate narrative outpaces even the most cunning video game, as he quietly dismantles the notion of privacy. The right to confidentiality is violated, escalating the social tension—here, specifically, the tension in the couple’s relationship. It’s as though the director has laid poisonous bait among the characters, and Lao Wu (Lee Kang-Sheng, known for Days and Stray Dogs), a voyeur, becomes a key player in determining their fates. Yeo masterfully generates unease, manipulating our subconscious like a cat-and-mouse game. The film’s few police procedures, sprinkled with motivational quotes, suggest that Yeo never intended for Stranger Eyes to become a standard police thriller. Instead, he reverses the focus, diving deeply into the psychological hazards that arise from a family’s unraveling, exploring both its visible and hidden scars.
Lee Kang-Sheng’s character communicates through silence, a method he’s perfected over years of acting, and it fits perfectly here. His role as a voyeur doesn’t simply disturb; it evolves into something more, an act of silent retribution. His character, complex and multilayered, oscillates between savior and nemesis. His growing connection with Peiying, who views him as a dedicated fan, immerses them in an absurd and inexplicable relationship, almost whispering to their shared sense of isolation and depression. This recalls Lee Kang-Sheng’s performance in Blue Sun Palace as Cheung, where, much like here, he fills the emotional void left by Peiying in a dynamic of loss and rediscovery.
Yeo Siew Hua’s screenplay opens another dimension, exploring the dark loopholes of unhappy marriage and the evaporating empathy and responsibility that dissolve amidst surveillance and instability. The film’s symbolic focus on cameras captures the essence of observing people from afar—the notion that you don’t need to be physically present to understand the dynamics of a family. A few seconds of recorded footage can reveal the full context. The camera’s lens becomes a powerful tool, allowing viewers to zoom in and out, replay moments, and absorb the subtle emotions that might otherwise remain hidden. And here we thought we couldn’t travel back in time?
Stranger Eyes, a masterpiece by Yeo Siew Hua, is perhaps the rarest gem in this year’s Venice competition. It redefines our understanding of privacy, weaving together the perspectives of victims and predators while plunging deep into the unsettling universe we now live in. The film explores cybercrimes and their inherent darkness, reminding us that no one is truly innocent. Its mystery doesn’t lie in identifying the missing or solving the crime, but in the psychological struggle to control privacy, a force with the power to either preserve or destroy a person’s life. The film reveals a chilling truth—that the real horrors are not just around us but within us, as we sometimes become the instruments of our own downfall.
The final 20 minutes of Stranger Eyes elevate the film to a new level of cinematic excellence, shifting its theme into a meditative state that feels almost capable of stopping time. At this moment, Stranger Eyes stands as a strong contender for the Golden Lion this year.
Stranger Eyes is produced by Akanga Film Asia (Fran Borgia), Volos Films (Stefano Centini), Films de Force Majeure (Jean-Laurent Csinidis), and Cinema Inutile (Alex C. Lo).
Explore our exclusive coverage of the 81st Venice International Film Festival here.
