Memories of crimes past

Rating: 8/10 (17 January 2011)

In continuation with my pursuit of the Spanish language, I saw with anticipation El Secreto de sus Ojos, an Argentine, Oscar winner. Two thoughts remained after watching it: how on earth can you shoot that football stadium sequence and where do you place Ricardo Darin on the great star-actor list of all time. Benjamin is writing a novel about something that happened years back. There are professional and personal voids from that age which keeps dragging him in. He wants to solve the first one and craves, silently, for a solution to the latter. In this battle of his own, he needs to braver and smarter. For the film to work, it needs him to be played by Ricardo Darin. An actor of great depth and charisma, he lends to his role every twitch of emotion and every pound of dignity it demands. A brilliant film and some fine acting make this a must watch.