Juan Jose Campanella
Il Segreto Dei Suoi Occhi

THE REVIEW

"Living a life with 'buts' and 'what ifs' is like living a life with a thousand pasts and no future."

There’s a scene in "The Secret in Their Eyes" that alone is worth the price of admission.

In the confined space of an elevator, a criminal loads his gun. He is preparing to eliminate the next dissident of the Argentine regime. The regime of the '70s, of Isabel Peròn, of the first desaparecidos. He has just been arrested: but it matters little if he is a sadistic rapist and murderer, he is a weapon of the State, and he is released immediately after arrest. Alongside him in the elevator, the protagonists of the film, his powerless and speechless pursuers: Benjamin Esposito and his boss, Irene Menendez.

The love story between the two federal agents, never consummated, intertwines with the case of a woman raped and murdered in general indifference; and the investigation, in turn, intertwines impeccably, almost holographically, with the moral and cultural degeneration of Argentina, steering towards fascism.

The entire story is recalled by Esposito, who, now retired, is writing a book about the case, intent on reliving that era (the flashbacks are conducted with austere elegance), his tormented professional story, battling his corrupt and arrogant superiors, and "exorcizing" his love for Irene, now married with children.

Memory is clearly the central theme of the work: it is distorted at our pleasure, or blurred (the first minutes of the film...) when things are too hard to bear; it returns to manifest through photos and archives (overarching objects throughout the film) but is ultimately hidden in the eyes. The eyes of the killer (the starting point of the "thriller" side) and those of Irene (the "sentimental" side).

"El secreto de sus ojos" lacks nothing. Superficially a detective story and social critique, in-depth meditation on loneliness. "How can you live a life of nothing?" is the protagonist's question, referring to the solitude of an apartment-prison; but also to Argentina, frozen over the years.

From a technical standpoint (the film is written and edited by the same director), the result is exceptional: noteworthy is the stadium scene, an incredibly long tracking shot, four minutes of uninterrupted pursuit, chaotic and with thousands of extras; a contrast with the rest of the film, which makes control and suspense its strength. Not to mention the surprise ending. The performance is also masterful and heartfelt (Ricardo Darin is considered the "Mastroianni" of Latin America), and despite the work’s noir nature, a few ironic remarks escape from the characters, "stuck" in their investigation by their own superiors. In a suffocating and gray atmosphere, a light of hope is left at the end of the tunnel.

The film took home the Oscar for Best Foreign Film 2010, surpassing "A Prophet" and "The White Ribbon": deservedly.