The Naked Eye

Begoña begins keeping a palm-sized video diary to document her sexual encounters as part of her self-exploration. The Owl becomes a confidante and a way to process the dizzying mix of rebellion and desire. The recordings set up a through-line that frames how she presents herself to the world.

Begoña attends a Christmas Eve dinner with her stern mother, married brother, and younger sister, where old resentments flare. She clashes with her relatives and feels increasingly out of place in the family’s upper-middle-class orbit. The heated moment drives her to leave the gathering in a whirl of frustration.

In a bar later that night, Daniel befriends Begoña and seems drawn to her confidence and allure. The encounter is interrupted by the arrival of her on-and-off ex-boyfriend Elio, sparking a tense confrontation. The scene marks the collision of fresh pursuit with old attachments.

The next morning, Begoña wakes up in her bed next to Daniel, unable to recall what happened the night before due to heavy drinking. Daniel explains that they had wild sex, and he begins to pursue her more relentlessly. The episode foreshadows the push-pull of desire that characterizes her relationships.

Begoña flirts with several men—Daniel, Elio, and Ramón—while maintaining distance with Ramón and entertaining the possibility with Daniel and Elio. She enjoys the attention but remains emotionally unsettled by each new advance. The constant pursuit reflects her restlessness and fear of conventional romance.

Ignacio, an older painter, becomes Begoña’s long-standing lover, offering a different kind of companionship than the younger men. He is old enough to be her father, yet their relationship endures over years. This arrangement highlights her appetite for experience alongside a sense of stability.

On New Year’s Day, Begoña reconnects with friends at Santiago’s house party and reflects on how different life could be. Marian asks for help birthing a child and asks Begoña to obtain sperm from Marian’s husband for artificial insemination. The moment shows Begoña navigating friendship, love, and unconventional family planning.

Following Elio’s dare to go into a rough Madrid neighborhood pretending to be a prostitute, Begoña is brutally raped by a pimp in drag. The assault shatters her sense of safety and becomes a defining trauma in her life. The experience triggers a reevaluation of her choices and desires.

After the rape, Begoña tries to impose a more respectable life on herself by marrying Daniel and having a child. The marriage suggests a move toward stability, even as underlying restlessness persists. The experience marks a pivot toward conventional domesticity.

Even with a husband and child, Begoña feels that traditional happiness has not fulfilled her inner needs. She continues to crave freedom and new experiences, signaling that her internal conflict is far from resolved. The tension hints at future choices that may pull her away from domestic life.

Driven by a craving for risk and self-discovery, Begoña returns to the seedy neighborhood where she was raped. The pursuit of a more intense experience pushes her to confront the parts of herself she had tried to leave behind. This decision underscores the film's themes of desire and identity.

The video diary continues to document Begoña’s evolving identity and the consequences of her choices, acting as an intimate mirror for self-exposure. The Owl frames how she internalizes and narrates her life story. The diary keeps the audience aligned with her perspective through changing circumstances.