7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pleasant Surprise, September 23, 2010
When I saw this film on a recommendation of a friend I did not remember that this film was the academy award winner for the foreign language category. It was a pleasant surprise. The film is part murder mystery part romance. The two lead actors are phenominal here as good acting is when the actor disappears and one believes they are the embodyment of the characters they are playing. This is one of those films. The film grabs one at the begining. It is said detectives can be desensitized to the vilence of it all however this detective is surprised and shocked at the brutality at the crime scene and he becomes obsessed. Then he meets the husband. The husband is beyond distraught over the sudden brutal death of his beautifull bride. Believe me when I tell you one becomes as obsessed as the detective in finding the person responsible for this senseless crime. This film does a good job of drawing one in to the story and the acting is first rate. If you are a fan of good acting, good writing and low tech you will not be disappointed. I highly recommend this film.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well deserving of its Academy Award win for Best Foreign Film, May 14, 2010
I found "El Secreto de Sus Ojos" to be well deserving of its Academy Award win for Best Foreign Film. Frankly, had it been my choice I would had gone for Jacques Audiard's unforgettable and searing masterpiece,
A Prophet [Blu-ray]. But there's no shame in losing out to Juan José Campanella's equally fine film.
Male directors aren't known for their male muses, but that's what Ricardo Darín is to director/co-writer Campanella. They've worked together many times in the past, most notably in the excellent
Son of the Bride. They're a winning combination. I love to watch Darín act. As Benjamin Esposito, he's not classically handsome, but you can't keep your eyes off of him. For classic Darín, check him out in
Nine Queens (Sub) [VHS], one of the best films you will ever see - a statement I can make with full confidence.
What to say of the regally beautiful Soledad Villamil who plays court secretary Irene Menéndez Hastings? I'm looking at her IMDB database and I see she's scandalously underused. In a perfect world, directors would be clawing their way to this woman to beg that she act in their film. What drives this movie's narrative is the long-term (25-year+) unrequited love and admiration between these two leading characters that sits right beneath the surface. Best scene in the film: a spontaneous good cop (Darín), bad cop (Villamil) routine that the two undertake in the interrogation of murder suspect Isidoro Gómez (an outstanding turn of creepiness and malevolence by Javier Godino). Villamil's character walked into the room under completely different pretenses, but - having been chilled by Gómez's penetrating, roving eye - she injects herself indelibly into the questioning. Her reaction and turn - and Darín's slow but sure understanding of her intent - is acting at its finest. It's the movie's pivotal scene done extraordinarily well.
A third fantastic performance rounds out the trio of leads: Guillermo Francella, almost unrecognizable from his bouncy, chipper performance as sports agent Batuta in the raucous
Rudo Y Cursi [Blu-ray] (I loved that role - he was superb), is an alcoholic co-worker who is endured, carried and cared after by a good-hearted Esposito. Despite problems with drink, Francella's Pablo Sandoval does get up for the thrill of the chase and proves instrumental in tracking down Gómez.
Some other 'stars' of the film: the mellifluous Argentinean Spanish never sounded so good as it does here (especially leaving Ms. Villamil lips); the courthouse buildings in Buenos Aires are majestic and imposing; the makeup artists deserve a special shout-out - the characters appear in two story arcs 25 years apart. The make-up is perfect: you believe the aging process has taken place without any suspension of belief.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Looking at a love that lasts, July 4, 2010
Winner of the 2010 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, The Secret in Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos) tells the story of a recently retired court officer who decides to spend his newly acquired leisure time trying to write a book about a murder case he investigated in his youth. The more he explores the case, though, the more he is forced to examine his own life, both in the present day and in the past where he made the decisions that lead him to where he is now.
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