The Secret in Their Eyes
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Year: 2009
Rated: R
Program Length: 129 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 1080p
Languages: Spanish, French 5.1 DTS-HD MA
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French
The Program
A guy can change anything. His face, his home, his family, his girlfriend, his religion, his God. But there's one thing he can't change. He can't change his passion.
The winner of the 2009 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, The Secret in Their Eyes is a compelling, intricately plotted film from Argentina which packs a wallop. Benjamin Esposito (Ricardo Darín) is a retired criminal court investigator in Buenos Aires who decides to write a novel about a rape/murder case which has haunted him for more than two decades. Years earlier he was given the assignment to investigate the rape and murder of Liliana Coloto, the beautiful young wife of a banker, Ricardo Morales (Pablo Rago). Esposito and his assistant, Pablo Sandoval (Guillermo Francella) focused their attention on Isidoro Gómez (Javier Godino), a young man who grew up with Liliana and may have been obsessed with her. However, Gómez got wind of the fact that the authorities were looking for him, and he dropped out of sight. Esposito and Sandoval then got into hot water with both the supervising judge and their immediate superior, Irene Menéndez (Soledad Villamil), after they searched the home of Gómez' mother without authorization. With no actual evidence that Gómez was involved in the crime and no other leads, Esposito was told that the case was being closed. However, a year later he bumped into Ricardo Morales in a train station. While they were talking, Morales told Benjamin that he visited Buenos Aires train stations every day after work, hoping that one day he would spot Gómez, the man he still believed to be the person who murdered his wife. Esposito was so deeply moved by the devotion of Morales that he decided to plead with Irene to reopen the case.
Esposito struggles with his novel and he decides to discuss it with his old boss. We come to learn that Esposito has always been in love with Irene, but his feelings were never overtly reciprocated by her. As he discusses the book project with her, the story of what happened years ago unfolds in flashbacks. However, this is no conventional crime story, as it is as much an examination of human passions and motivations as a depiction of the investigation of a brutal crime. It turns out that the pursuit of Isidoro Gómez was only half of the story, as politics and professional rivalries seemingly conspired to deny both Benjamin Esposito and Ricardo Morales the satisfaction of seeing justice prevail. As Esposito finishes the rough draft of his book, he finds that both that story of the Morales case and his feelings toward Irene remain unresolved. His search for answers takes one unexpected turn after another, ultimately leading to a shocking and disturbing climax.
The Argentinean cast is mostly unknown to American viewers, but the acting is uniformly excellent. Ricardo Darín is suitably understated as Esposito, a man who is dedicated and determined in his professional life but passive when it comes to expressing his feelings about Irene. Soledad Villamil is excellent as Irene, who obviously has feelings for Esposito but who loses herself in her work and a safe but ultimately unsatisfying personal life. Both actors manage to convincingly bridge the years between the time of the murder and initial investigation and their revisiting of the case many years later. Also worthy of praise is Guillermo Francella, whose superb portrayal of the indispensable but flawed Pablo Sandoval is integral to the film's success. Director Juan José Campanella deftly manages the transitions between current events and flashbacks, and he also co-wrote the script with Eduardo Sacheri (upon whose novel the movie is based).
The Secret in Their Eyes is further enhanced by the Buenos Aires locations, which contribute greatly to the film's authenticity.
As good as this film is, there is a case to be made that the best foreign language film of 2009 was A Prophet, which was released on Blu-ray by Sony earlier this year. However, the Academy voters may have been turned off by the more amoral (albeit completely realistic) tone of A Prophet. Nevertheless, The Secret in Their Eyes is certainly worthy of great praise and is highly recommended as an original and sometimes disturbing look at crime and punishment. Viewers who are skittish about such things should be warned that there is some grisly crime scene footage involving female nudity and one brief but significant scene of male frontal nudity. The latter scene occurs during a police interrogation which includes some intense but appropriate profanity.
The Video
Sony's 2.35:1 Blu-ray transfer is typically excellent. The picture is consistently sharp and clear, and the many close-ups of the principal characters serve to effectively convey their feelings and emotions. Colors are solid and accurate, and shadow detail is excellent in a number of low-light scenes. The 2.35:1 framing appears to be correct in every respect, and a moderate level of film grain gives The Secret in Their Eyes a natural, film-like appearance. Black levels are consistently solid and deep. As usual, Sony has not applied excessive DNR, and digital anomalies are non-existent.
The Audio
The lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack is solid throughout, both in Spanish and French. There are no explosions and only a couple of scenes of gunfire, so there is little here which jumps out at the listener. The dialogue is mostly confined to the center channel, but the surround channels are effectively used to convey ambient sounds. Special attention should be given to the evocative, piano-dominated musical soundtrack by Federico Jusid and Emilio Kauderer, which is given an expansive soundstage. The white English subtitles appear by default and are easy to read, but they can be turned off for those who are fluent in Spanish and/or French.
The Supplements
There are just a few extras on this Blu-ray disc, which are presented in standard definition and Spanish stereo (with English subtitles). There is an informative commentary track by the director. The commentary is in Spanish with English subtitles, which means that the subtitles for the film dialogue are not shown while director Campanella is speaking. He describes the various techniques which he used, while also explaining the artistic considerations which led him to use those techniques.
"Behind the Scenes of The Secret in Their Eyes" is a short, unexceptional "making of" featurette which runs for only four minutes. "Casting of The Secret in Their Eyes" consists of ten minutes of rehearsal footage featuring some of the film's minor characters. Of special interest is a scene which did not make it into the film involving Liliana Coloto and Isidoro Gómez. This featurette is shown in standard definition but at 1.85:1. Also included is the film's theatrical trailer and trailers for A Prophet, Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky, Get Low, Please Give, Animal Kingdom, Micmacs, The White Ribbon, and the miniseries The Pillars of the Earth.
As usual, BD-Live features will be enabled on the release date.
The Packaging
The single disc comes in a standard Blu-ray keep case.
The Final Analysis
The Secret in Their Eyes is a compelling and involving crime drama which provides a number or shocks and surprises, while also managing to explore deeper issues which will give the viewer plenty to think about after the final credits have rolled. It has deservedly garnered high praise and numerous awards, including the 2009 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Equipment used for this review:
Panasonic DMP-BD50 Blu-ray player
Panasonic Viera TC-P46G15 Plasma display, calibrated to THX specifications by Gregg Loewen
Yamaha HTR-5890 THX Surround Receiver
BIC Acoustech speakers
Interconnects: Monster Cable
Release Date: September 21, 2010
