Salina Art Center

The London Times has picked this film as the “must-see art house gem of the summer!”

When director Juan José Campanella’s riveting drama won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film a few months ago, it was considered an upset-The White Ribbon  was the more prestigious, well-known, “artistic” front-runner.  But Academy voters weren’t swayed by the prestige of all those Cannes Film Festival prizes conferred on The White Ribbon.  As critic Roger Ebert suggested, the recent rules change required voters to actually see all foreign film nominees, and having seen them, they voted with their hearts and picked the excellent, absorbing Argentinean entry although stylistically it was more traditional than Michael Haneke’s somber, black-and-white film, and not as disturbing or controversial. Which is not to say The Secret in Their Eyes is lightweight: its story centers upon a brutal rape-murder that wasn’t solved to the satisfaction of its chief investigator, Benjamin (Ricardo Darín).  Twenty-five years later, he’s determined to re-open the case and write a non-fiction book about it.  Joining him is Irene (Soledad Villamil), who was a judge’s assistant (and his boss) on the case; now she’s a judge, and her reunion with Benjamin awakens a romantic spark between them.  Their feelings had gone unspoken in large part because of their difference in social status and income; Irene is still “above” the now-retired Benjamin (rather chaffing in such a machismo-infused culture), they’re both older, wiser, more mature-so there might be a possibility that they can connect, if Benjamin hasn’t already become completely obsessed by his case.  The Secret in Their Eyes is a subtle romantic drama and also a fascinating police procedural-no surprise that director Campanella brings vivid authenticity to the investigation scenes, since he’s done a great deal of work in American television, for shows like Law and Order and House.  He has a solid feel for how dedicated professionals of all kinds work together, communicate, think, and reason.  He also appreciates contrasting personalities, as shown in the interesting relationship between Benjamin and his alcoholic, semi-incompetent partner, Sandoval (Guillermo Francella), and between Benjamin and the victim’s devoted husband (Pablo Rago).  But the film allows Campanella a greater scope and darker emotional intensity than his television work; it also allows him to demonstrate some Alfred Hitchcock-like chops such as a suspenseful chase scene in a soccer stadium, as well as more complex editing (the film cuts back and forth between the present and the past) that smoothly elucidates the theme of memory and trying to correct old mistakes.  By involving Irene in his search for the real killer, Benjamin is also trying to correct his past mistake of not expressing his feelings for Irene when they were younger, and she was sending out signals not even a blind man could miss.  There’s subtle characterization in how Benjamin proceeds with his investigation: much of his search involves looking at mug shots of suspects and trying to discern their guilt or innocence through their eyes (the windows to the soul, as everyone knows).  Benjamin’s determined not to be blind again, to “see” the truth in front of him.  Throughout the film, there is a great deal of symbolism and references to sight, seeing, blindness, and unwillingness to see.  It adds a fascinating subtext to the fascinating drama onscreen.  Helping immensely are the terrific performances by everyone, but especially by Darín and Villamil.  They’re not typical, model-pretty twenty-somethings with capped teeth and perfect hair.  They’re middle-aged, believably attractive, with faces that show character and life experience; deeper and more complex than the usual Hollywood leads, they earn a greater emotional investment in their relationship and the unpredictable outcome of their investigation.  Deliberately paced but gripping throughout, The Secret in Their Eyes is a deserved award-winner and one of the best films of 2010.