Deserves the Oscar, and More

Rating: 10/10 (11 March 2010)

El Secreto de sus Ojos is a great film. If you examine the filmography of the director, Jean Jose Campanella, you can see that all his years directing TV in Hollywood has taught him the craft of classic Hollywood style on a high level. But the movie is authentically Argentinian, both in style and in content. Ricardo Darin and Soledad Villamil are both deeply familiar actors in Argentina, and the romantic melodrama is quite typical, but the tautness of the suspense and the intelligent plot twists bring out the best in both actors, as well as an amazing supporting cast. And I loved the portrayal of politics. Without giving any more away, the scene in the elevator is one of the most effective portrayals of what fascism really feels like.
I'm sure Campanella's Hollywood contacts didn't hurt, and that the movie was done in a pretty standard style (note the tour-de-force long shot in the stadium!), but this is a great movie by any standard.