The Secret in their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos)

Director: Juan José Campanella,
Argentina 2009
129 minutes

Our notes

Benjamin Esposito (Ricardo Darin) is a state criminal investigator who is approaching retirement. He decides to write an account of an unsolved case that had always troubled him, never convinced that the men convicted were guilty. In 1974, as Argentina was sinking into military dictatorship, he was called to the site of a brutal rape and murder of a young woman. At the time he was a junior court investigator to Irene Menendez Hastings (Soledad Villamil ), his superior in social class as well as work; he had been in love with her but had never had the courage to try his luck. Irene had long since moved on but now, in 2000, she re-enters his life following her appointment as a judge, and once again he is working for her.

The story unfolds in a series of flashbacks and forwards between 1974 and 2000 as they re-investigate the murder and explore their own interrupted relationship. All the performances by the central characters are beautifully controlled and convincing. This is a sprawling film, a thriller that mixes love, violence, romance humour and tragedy, whilst allowing time for the characters and story to develop.

Juan José Campanella, born in Argentina in 1959, is very well known and highly regarded in his native country for the many films he has made there and has directed extensively for television in the USA.

Cast: Ricardo Darin, Soledad Villamil, Guillermo Francella, Pablo Rago, Javier Godino, José Luis Gioia, Carla Quevedo

Awards: Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film 2010. Another thirty-four awards and nineteen nominations

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