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THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES (EL SECRETO DE SUS OJOS)
[2009, Argentina – Spanish]

I’m going to bump up my review on The Secret In Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos), an Argentine crime thriller which won 2010 Academy Award for best foreign language film, simply because we will be able to enjoy it’s English remake very soon in November. Not only will the remake be helmed by Billy Ray, director of The Hunger Games, Shattered Glass and Captain Phillips, its cast with Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman and 12 Years A Slave’s Chiwetel Ejiofor is enough to keep us anticipating.

Now, back to the original film directed & produced by Juan José Campanella. It made quite a surprising win at the Oscars, besting two more-buzzed-about films, The White Ribbon and A Prophet. However after watching the Argentine-Spanish jointly produced film which stars Ricardo Darín and Soledad Villamil, most (including myself) would agree that it is definitely not a film we can push aside.

The film tells the story of a legal investigator at the criminal court, Benjamin Espósito (Darin)’s obsessive attempt to crack the case of a savage rape and murder of a young woman in Buenos Aires. The story centres around Espósito’s chase, and his relationships with his superior, Irene Menéndez-Hastings (Villamil), his quirky partner Pablo Sandoval (Guillermo Francella) and the grieving widower of victim, Ricardo Morales (Pablo Rago). As much as it’s a crime flick sufficient to keep you in suspense, it is also an engaging drama with strong emotional and moral overtones. In essence you will witness three men’s yearning for their objects of desire, in varying ways, women beyond their reach. First we have Espósito, who is obviously harboring deep affections for his superior Irene, but often holds his feelings within. Then there is the crime suspect, Isidoro Gómez (Javier Godino), the victim’s childhood friend who has lusted after her for years. And lastly, the victim’s husband Morales, who painfully mourns for his wife. As trivial as all these may seemed, each will play a part in the building up the plot towards an unexpected end when Espósito finally solves the case.

I’m impressed. I can see why it appealed to the Academy electorate. It keeps you intrigued whilst the protagonist deciphers the clues, his self-denying relationship with Irene is also slowly flourished, and audience is treated with all the well-planned underlying themes of love and loneliness, politics and corruption, yearning and the pain in letting go. Now I’m yearning for its remake in November.

Rating : A-

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