The Secret in Their Eyes

Just for once, winning the 2010 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language may have a detrimental effect on your appreciation of new Argentinean film The Secret In Their Eyes – if only because it beat such acclaimed competition. If you’ve already seen The White Ribbon and The Prophet – from whom Jaun José Campanella’s film unexpectedly swiped the Oscar accolade – then you might approach this intriguing thriller with unrealistically high expectations. If so, temper them; this part-crime, part love story is a more uneven piece of work than those two offerings, although it satisfyingly pulls things together with a startling final act.

Benjamin Espósito is a criminal court employee who has just retired. He remains haunted by a case from 25 years previously. He decides to write a book about it, and in doing so, seeks out those involved at the time – most notably his colleague Irene Menédez Hastings, whom he has secretly nursed a love for since they first met. The case involved the rape and murder of a young newlywed – Liliana Morales. Told largely in flashback, Benjamin befriends Liliana’s devastated husband, Ricardo – promising to capture the person responsible for the young woman’s murder and ensure that he is sent to prison for life. A suspect is duly caught, but this is Argentina in 1974 – a time when bribes, favours and corruption prevailed at all levels of government – and instead of a straightforward murder case, Espósito finds himself become unwittingly entwined within the drama. Twenty-five years later, he decides that he must truly get to the bottom of the mystery. Something about the case has forever haunted him – while the feeling of unfinished business continues to gnaw at him.

The Secret In Their Eyes – adapted from Eduardo Sacheri’s novel La pregunta de sus ojos – is Campanella’s most satisfying work to date. It’s a confident and intelligent crime-mystery that draws upon “film noir” traditions, but in which the palette is saturated with 1970s Latin American hues. It works well both as a thriller, and as a meditation on age, memory, recollection and regret. The actions switches seamlessly and convincingly between 1974 and 1999, and only becomes frayed in the way it seeks to bind together the crime mystery and the accompanying ‘lost love’ story between Benjamin and Irene. Fortunately, as stated, things are pulled together in the closing act, with an unexpected twist to rival The Sixth Sense. It makes for a devastating denouement that fully makes up for any patchiness preceding it.

Last edited: 11th September 2010

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