Awareness (film)

Awareness is a 2023 Spanish-American science-fiction action thriller film directed by Daniel Benmayor, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Iván Ledesma, and Manuel Burque. It stars Carlos Scholz alongside María Pedraza, Pedro Alonso, Lela Loren, and Óscar Jaenada.

Plot
Ian is a rebel who lives with his dad on the margins of society. They survive on small scams thanks to Ian's extraordinary ability to project visual illusion into the minds of others. After losing control over his powers in public, a mysterious secret agency begins to pursue him. While fleeing from him, Ian will discover that he is not the only one with the ability to project visual illusion and that his entire life has been a lie.

Production
The screenplay was penned by Daniel Benmayor alongside Iván Ledesma and Manuel Burque. The film is a Spanish-US co-production by Federation Spain, Amazon Studios, and Dbenma Content. Shooting locations included Catalonia, Madrid, and Castile and León. The film was scored by Roque Baños.

Release
Awareness was presented at the 26th Málaga Film Festival on 16 March 2023, screened within the non-competitive 'Málaga Premiere' film slate. Amazon Prime Video released the film on 11 October 2023.

Reception
According to the American review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, Awareness has a 13% approval rating based on 8 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 4.80/10.

Enid Román Almansa of Cinemanía rated the film 2 out of 5 stars, writing that the "result of Awareness is too flat to become an intriguing title".

Raquel Hernández Luján of HobbyConsolas rated the film with 62 points ('acceptable'), citing "the powerful cinematographic ideas, good action choreography and great intentions" as positive elements, while noting how the acting performances are not [precisely] the film's strongest point, and the film's lack of naturalness as elements bringing the film down.