THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES
****
Director: Juan José Campanella
Screenwriters: Juan José Campanella and Eduardo Sacheri, based on Sacheri’s novel - The Question in their Eyes.
Principal cast:
Ricardo Darín
Soledad Villamil
Guillermo Francella
Pablo Rago
Carla Quevedo
Javier Godino
Country: Argentina/Spain
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 129 mins.
Australian release date: 27 May 2010.
Juan José Campanella’s thriller, The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto De Sus Ojos), won the 2010 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and justifiably so. Written and directed by Campanella, this has to be one of the finest films of the year. Alternating between the past and the present, the story spans a period of 25 years. The central theme is love and loneliness and the desire to find closure after a long period of nagging uncertainty.
The film is full of questions about life and the consequences of lost opportunities. The main character, Benjamín Esposito (Ricardo Darín), is a retired criminal court investigator in his sixties, who decides to write a book about an unsolved 1970s rape and murder case that still haunts him. After living for many years in self-imposed exile, to escape an agent of Argentina’s secret police, Esposito returns to Buenos Aires and re-establishes contact with the beautiful judge, Irene Menéndez Hastings (Soledad Villamil).
The story is full of flashbacks, creating a multi-layered tale which interweaves like the warp and weft of a fine piece of fabric. The re-encounter with his former colleague awakens another desire for closure which has been niggling him for many years. Esposito is also troubled by the tragic loss of a former friend and workmate, Pablo Sandoval (Guillermo Francella), a man of genius who shared his deep sense of right and wrong. The memories and the mystery of the unsolved crime test his limits as he attempts to seek justice and fulfillment at last.
Esposito contacts the murdered victim’s husband, Ricardo Morales (Pablo Rago), who is also coming to terms with the ghosts of the past. It is one of the central questions that Campanella raises, “How does someone end up all alone in life?” He seeks to discover their secrets and to find the answer to, “What act of madness could a pair of eyes commit when love is taken away from them?” Thus, we are constantly confronted with issues of love and loss as the story unfolds across time.
An award should have been considered for the detailed aging make-up. The ‘70s sets and costumes, too, authentically portray a period in Argentinean history which was about to fall under the control of a repressive regime. It is through the memories of that era that we undertake a journey that has many twists and turns as the story progresses and we discover how Esposito deals with unfinished business in The Secret in Their Eyes. I recommend that you take the trip with him.
Screenwriters: Juan José Campanella and Eduardo Sacheri, based on Sacheri’s novel - The Question in their Eyes.
Principal cast:
Ricardo Darín
Soledad Villamil
Guillermo Francella
Pablo Rago
Carla Quevedo
Javier Godino
Country: Argentina/Spain
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 129 mins.
Australian release date: 27 May 2010.
Juan José Campanella’s thriller, The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto De Sus Ojos), won the 2010 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and justifiably so. Written and directed by Campanella, this has to be one of the finest films of the year. Alternating between the past and the present, the story spans a period of 25 years. The central theme is love and loneliness and the desire to find closure after a long period of nagging uncertainty.
The film is full of questions about life and the consequences of lost opportunities. The main character, Benjamín Esposito (Ricardo Darín), is a retired criminal court investigator in his sixties, who decides to write a book about an unsolved 1970s rape and murder case that still haunts him. After living for many years in self-imposed exile, to escape an agent of Argentina’s secret police, Esposito returns to Buenos Aires and re-establishes contact with the beautiful judge, Irene Menéndez Hastings (Soledad Villamil).
The story is full of flashbacks, creating a multi-layered tale which interweaves like the warp and weft of a fine piece of fabric. The re-encounter with his former colleague awakens another desire for closure which has been niggling him for many years. Esposito is also troubled by the tragic loss of a former friend and workmate, Pablo Sandoval (Guillermo Francella), a man of genius who shared his deep sense of right and wrong. The memories and the mystery of the unsolved crime test his limits as he attempts to seek justice and fulfillment at last.
Esposito contacts the murdered victim’s husband, Ricardo Morales (Pablo Rago), who is also coming to terms with the ghosts of the past. It is one of the central questions that Campanella raises, “How does someone end up all alone in life?” He seeks to discover their secrets and to find the answer to, “What act of madness could a pair of eyes commit when love is taken away from them?” Thus, we are constantly confronted with issues of love and loss as the story unfolds across time.
An award should have been considered for the detailed aging make-up. The ‘70s sets and costumes, too, authentically portray a period in Argentinean history which was about to fall under the control of a repressive regime. It is through the memories of that era that we undertake a journey that has many twists and turns as the story progresses and we discover how Esposito deals with unfinished business in The Secret in Their Eyes. I recommend that you take the trip with him.