This is one of the year’s best.
I finally got to see The Secrets in their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos), this year’s Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Picture over A Prophet (which I admired). It is an outstanding film, and more accessible than A Prophet.
The Secrets in their Eyes is a police procedural set in Argentina with two breathtaking plot twists, original characters, a mature romance and one breathtaking, “how did they do it?” shot. The story centers on a murder in Argentina’s politically turbulent 1970s, but most of the story takes place twenty years later when a retired cop revisits the murder.
Veteran Argentinian actor Ricardo Darin shines once again in a Joe Mantegna-type role. Darin leads an excellent cast, including Guillermo Francella, who brings alive the character of Darin’s drunk assistant.
Director Juan Jose Campanella is receiving justifiable praise for the amazing shot of a police search in a filled and frenzied soccer stadium. It ranks as one of the great single shots, along with the kitchen entrance in Goodfellas and the battle scene in Children of Men.