A Powerful and Thought-Provoking Masterpiece

Rating: 8/10 (25 May 2010)

"A guy can change anything. His face, his home, his family, his girlfriend, his religion, his God. But there's one thing he can't change. He can't change his passion."
'The Secret In Their Eyes' builds upon the very essence of life: a sequence of key moments that can completely change our destinies if we recognize them for what they are, held together by the long ordinary days in between where we don't feel remarkable enough to act. Yet its ultimate message is one of hope, while also challenging us to decide whether or not in certain situations revenge is justified. I am not normally a big fan of crime fiction, let alone romance, yet if 'The Secret In Their Eyes' was indicative of the way in which crime-romance cinema normally entertains, I'd have to jump the tracks and nail my colours to the mast. However, 'The Secret In Their Eyes' is simply a very good film, written and directed with confident maturity, populated with engaging characters expertly realized, and one that really makes you think long after the credits have rolled up into the screen.
As the 20th Century draws to a close, retired federal justice agent Benjamin Esposito decides to fictionalise an especially memorable case from his younger days - one that changed his life forever. However, as the memories come flooding back, the unsolved 1974 crime refuses to fade away, and Esposito finds himself compelled to solve it once and for all, in the process rediscovering his undying love for a woman he once let slip through his fingers. Along the way, he learns what truly makes humans tick and that true passion may be the strongest force in existence, although it may manifest itself in ways too hard to accept.
It will therefore hardly be surprising that I consider one of the film's prime strengths to be its study of the human condition. On one level, the commentary is nothing new: love, longing, missed opportunities, regret, fallibility, weakness, malice; yet this is humanity in a nutshell, with every generation enacting the same drama as before.
'Secret' is not intended to turn this all-encompassing portrait on its side and offer a new interpretation. Its characters are straightforward, easily-identifiable and found all around us - they may even be us. The aim is to show them in all their glory and misery and break them down into the raw emotions that make us all tick. If you've never truly loved and lost, much of the film simply won't resonate as anything more than a tired cliché. Likewise, if you don't care for a study on the mechanics of human behaviour, this isn't for you. It's not a new paradigm of the genre, rather a very open and honest one that relies very much on the viewer's own life experience for it to make impact. Others may be put off by the analysis of revenge, especially as it invites introspection on one's own character by film's end. Yet this is surely the point.
Another of 'Secret's key strengths is the choice of actors and the characters themselves. Ricardo Darin's Esposito is at turns very subdued, worn down by the realities of life, yet elsewhere a fiery champion of justice - perhaps not unsurprising given his vocation, but Darin has the feel of the character just right. In opposition, Soledad Villamil's Irene is a woman in conflict: career-driven, struggling to walk the right path, and torn by her feelings. If anyone embodied the film's title, it would have to be Pablo Rago's portrayal of Ricardo Morales, the husband of a rape victim. Rago's wide eyes says so much, yet hide even more. Perhaps especially memorable however is Esposito's friend, Pablo Sandoval, played by Guillermo Francella. It may again be unoriginal that the film's comic relief turns out to have the greatest insight (and espouse the film's central message), but the oft-ignored yet wise fool is a long-enduring character simply for what he offers the viewer. There is also something earthy and endearing about Francella's performance that keeps your eyes trained upon him. The humour also provides a welcome release amidst the darker themes of the film.
This is helped further by the touching, at times hauntingly-beautiful score provided by Federico Jusid and Emilio Kauderer, proving an excellent match for the often sombre mood director Juan Campanella aims to create. Although 'sepia' would be too strong a word, there is a definite yellowish tint awash over the flashback sequences that give the film its art-house feel and atmosphere. Running at just over two hours, Campanella has managed to set the pace just right - anything slower would lose the audience, yet to speed things up would be to destroy the important character moments, often carried by lingering expressions that say more than dialogue ever would. Yet dialogue is very much the centrepiece of the film - none of the themes are left unexplored and Campanella isn't interested in letting the visuals do all the talking. Again, I felt the balance between the visual discourse and the verbal was just right.
As my first entry into Argentinian film, I was very impressed with 'The Secret In Their Eyes'. However, to dwell on its country of its origin would be to do it a disservice, for it is simply good cinema. While its commentary on its universal themes may not work for everyone, I think many will enjoy the very touching and human tale that unfolds. If it ultimately leaves you a little unsettled and undecided as to the choices taken within the narrative, it has achieved its goal. Actual rating: 8 1/2 stars.