The Secret In Their Eyes (El Secreto de sus Ojos)

I don't really know where to begin with this. See, I saw The Secret In Their Eyes (El Secreto de sus Ojos) tonight by myself, and then I met someone for drinks after. I couldn't really talk about the movie because I was afraid I would give something away. But, that's all I could think about. It consumed me. I was so emotionally overwhelmed that I had to compartmentalize it all until I could totally spill. I guess this is my spill because I feel like I'm just needing to tell everything and nothing at once (because I just don't want to spoil anything). I knew next to nothing going into the movie (other than 1. it won an Oscar for best foreign film; 2, it's from Argentina; and 3. three of my friends told me they really liked it. Well, one of them said it's an epic film. I knew that meant something because he prefaced that statement with, "I wouldn't normally ever use the word 'epic,' but that's what it is." I think he was right.)

There is a rape and murder that takes place, and everything stems from there. The images are not so gruesome that you can't watch, but they are affecting because they never seem to leave the protagonist's mind. By transference, they never leave the viewer's mind, either. The images of the dead woman linger and serve to taint all the other parts of the movie. The main character (Benjamin), 25 years later, decides to write a novel (even though it's a true-event story) about this rape/homicide case. So, we the audience are tossed back and forth between him writing and reflecting on the case and the time period in the past, and present day. The shift is not jarring; if anything, it's a way to clarify his feelings in the present and understand the events that led up to the now.

There's crime and intrigue and humor and suspicion, but I'm neglecting the most resonating part. There is, in fact, a tragic and beautiful love story that you really must experience to appreciate. And, there's not just one. Benjamin's longing for Irene, the lawyer on the case, gets interlaced with the murdered woman's grieving husband, and maybe Benjamin even loves that woman, too. There are three key scenes in The Secret In Their Eyes that especially took my breath away. Forgive the evasive nature of this review, but it's important that I give nothing away. Suffice it to say that all three key scenes start with a glance or a gesture and end with perfect dialogue.

I know I'm not really doing justice to this film. It's way past midnight now, and I'm still thinking about the cadence of the plot and the arch of the characters. I'm still sorting it all out. You just need to see it. It's exactly how I think movies deserve to be: strong and developed and tragic and funny and alive.