Movie review: The Secret in Their Eyes

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by: Jim Lane
June 2 2010

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moviesecretsoftheireyes2

Movie Review: The Secret in Their Eyes. Directed by Juan Campanella, starring Ricardo Darin and Soledad Villamil

Award-winning Argentine film covers 25 years in the seemingly plain life of an employee in a criminal court. The same period includes the end of the government’s “dirty war” against Argentine youth, the return of the Peronistas, the economic disaster and the subsequent rejection of the International Monetary Fund. The characters in the story are aware of historical developments, but not primarily concerned with them. In a way, it’s amazing but, at the same time, comforting to realize that people had lives and personal concerns apart from the politics of the time.

The movie is a murder mystery, a crime-and-punishment saga, and one or two or three of the sadder love stories yet told on film. The central theme is neither murder nor love, but defining the parameters for a decent life on this planet.

For some, the movie will drag on. The run time is just over two hours. There are, after all, 25 years to cover. The plot is thin. But the characters are fascinating, and the nuanced acting and directing are hypnotic.

My movie buddy admitted that she dozed off once, but we both loved finding out the secrets in their eyes.

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  • shift:I wonder if the actors in the movie had to undergo laser eye correction so that they could show their beautiful eyes, unhampered by spectacles. With such a movie title, it should be the case that the messages conveyed by actors’ eyes plays quite an important part in the movie, perhaps? I have yet to watch the movie, but I do hope that is the case, as conveying messages through the eyes seems to be a rather challenging thing, and if actors are able to do it I applaud them for it!

    Posted by Tim Vision, 08/02/2011 4:29am (10 months ago)

  • also liked the movie, the fact that it involves economics, politics, even countries in South America, the film becomes more inclusive of other cultures in the world and the world not only within the USA

    Posted by Banco de madeira, 06/02/2011 9:17am (12 months ago)

  • I loved this film; it was touching and authentic and marked by terrific performances, expert cinematography and revealing settings. I had several endings in mind, but not one of the ones that occurred. It's message about not being afraid and moving on your feelings are timely. Viewers are about to be deluged with overly violent, so-called summer films. See this one in which the violence, as in excellent detective fiction and films, is necessary to the story and not an end in itself. Finally, it is a gift to movie lovers to see this film from Argentina.

    Posted by Bytes Land, 04/12/2011 3:23am (1 year ago)

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