The Secret in Their Eyes

This film was 2010's unexpected Foreign Language Oscar winner, despite the fact that few people in this country had heard of it at the time. The story moves between 1999, when Espósito (Darín), a retired federal justice agent, is trying to write his memoirs, and 1974, the time of the inconclusive criminal investigation which haunted the rest of his career. A young newlywed is brutally raped and murdered inside her home in Buenos Aires. The love-stricken grief of the victim’s husband, Morales (Rago), spurs Espósito to find the man responsible, despite his department ordering him to come up with a fast and simple solution to the case. Instead of lapsing into familiar whodunit territory, we follow Espósito as he learns that finding the guilty man is far easier than bringing him to justice.

As well as the set backs provided by the judicial system’s entrenched corruption, Espósito has to contend with looking after his alcoholic assistant Sandoval (Francella) and continually assuaging the department chief Irene Menéndez-Hastings (Villamil), who wants to help Espósito to solve the case but disapproves of his rule-bending methods. There are hints of growing attraction between Irene and Espósito, but the class difference between them turns a possible corny romantic subplot into a nuanced exploration of Argentinean class divisions.

The film confidently tackles big themes such as political corruption and the nature of justice, while maintaining the thrill of the central chase. Breathtaking set pieces, such as a frantic pursuing through a packed football stadium, sit easily alongside a sensitive examination of recent Latin American history. Think of it as an intelligent thriller, the kind of film that Hollywood should be learning from.

Shoshana Eilon