'' Dark at Noon '' was the first film Ruiz made with panoramic framing . The film was shot on an Arri 535 camera with a very sensitive film stock , as opposed to previously shooting on 16 mm film . Ruiz states the new technical means of the film helped create a distinction from the look and feel of television that was more cinematic and allowed him to create shots that gave viewers " the feeling that they occupied a precise and determined place from which their vision was exercised . " '' Dark at Noon '' premiered at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival where the film competed for the Palme d’Or . The film also screened at the Chicago International Film Festival the same year and in 1993 it was briefly released theatrically in several countries . '' Dark at Noon '' received both positive and negative reviews from critics ranging from the highest praise to complaints about the plot being confusing and incomprehensible . Frédéric Richard wrote in '' Positif '' magazine ( July 1992 issue ) : " The eye that lies was without a doubt the most original movie of the competition , the more positively innovative and most interesting for its look carried on the world of the pictures . No luck of prize , therefore , for Raul Ruiz to the festival of Cannes , dominated this year by a manifest reactionary tendency . With the oeii that lies , Ruiz achieves a funny , oniric and troubling movie . " However , a less favorable review of '' Dark at Noon '' calls the film " intriguing or amusing at times , but mostly infuriatingly confusing and random . " Richard Scheib gives the film a 1 star rating and claims Ruiz has no idea of plot
1992 Cannes Film Festival
1992 Cannes Film Festival
Dark at Noon