In 2012, about twenty years after the mysterious disappearance of actor Julio Arenas on the seacoast while shooting a film titled The Farewell Gaze in the 1990s, a sensationalist television show revives the case, coming to involve film director and Arenas's close friend Miguel Garay, who talks to Julio's daughter Ana, the movie's editor and archivist Max, and mutual friend and lover Lola.

[14] Erice declined to attend the premiere, explaining his absence in an open letter sent to El País on the basis of a reported lack of "dialogue and consultation" on the part of the festival's programming director Thierry Frémaux during the selection process.

[15] The Cannes festival's administration issued a statement in response claiming that the selection of the film took place under usual conditions, explaining that they were "above all proud and happy to have welcomed Close Your Eyes by Víctor Erice to its 76th edition".

[25] Film Movement acquired North American distribution rights in April 2024; a theatrical run starting on 23 August 2024 was planned in New York and Los Angeles with digital and home entertainment releases to follow.

The website's consensus reads: "A near-masterpiece for director/co-writer Victor Erice, Close Your Eyes ends his long gap between films with a moving meditation on memory, identity, and cinema itself.

Daniel de Partearroyo of Cinemanía rated the film 4½ out of 5 stars, stressing in the verdict "the return of the king", and how Erice "is awe-inspiring with his gaze from another time".