The Secret in Their EyesDirected by Juan Jose CampanellaRialto TheatresThe Argentinean film “The Secret in Their Eyes” won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2009. If it hadn't been in a foreign language it would probably have
The Secret in Their Eyes
Directed by Juan Jose Campanella
Rialto Theatres
The Argentinean film “The Secret in Their Eyes” won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2009. If it hadn’t been in a foreign language it would probably have won the Award for Best Picture.
At one level it’s a standard cold case film but this is a film with real class, multi-layered and perceptive. The human conflicts speak of a real world and not the banalities of the Hollywood style thriller.
The film begins in a fairly standard fashion but the nuances of the plot and script slowly draw one into a complex and enthralling story.
Benjamin Esposto (played by the popular Argentinean actor Riccardo Darin) has recently retired and decides to write a novel about a brutal rape and murder case which occurred thirty five years before and has troubled him ever since as it has never been adequately resolved.
The murdered woman’s husband’s dedication to discovering the truth about what happened to his wife inspires the prosecutor turned detective to not only discover the truth about the murder but also to pursue the unrequited love of his life, the sophisticated judge Irene (Soledad Villami).
Esposto has previously arrested and prosecuted Gomez (Javier Godino), the woman’s killer but he was then mysteriously released by the authorities in order to have him work as an undercover agent for the secret police. For Argentineans such a charcater has many resonances as men like Gomez were responsible for “the missing”, the hundreds of men and women who were killed for being critics of the state in the 1970’s. Gomez uses his position to try to destroy Esposto’s career and kill him forcing the prosecutor to leave Buenos Aires.
In undertaking his book, Esposto discovers that Gomez has disappeared several years ago and his search for the man reveals shadowy levels of corruption, bureaucratic blindness, social malaise and personal despair.
The film provides an insight into Argentinean society, showing how a different society handles crime and punishment. It also shows that most of us have similar basic human qualities, aspirations and dreams.
The gripping and at time graphic film is flecked through with elements of comedy which gives the work a real sense of urgency and realism.
