Movie Review: The Secret in Their Eyes. Directed by Juan Campanella, starring Ricardo Darin and Soledad Villamil

Award-winning Argentine film covers 25 years in the seemingly plain life of an employee in a criminal court. The same period includes the end of the government’s “dirty war” against Argentine youth, the return of the Peronistas, the economic disaster and the subsequent rejection of the International Monetary Fund. The characters in the story are aware of historical developments, but not primarily concerned with them. In a way, it’s amazing but, at the same time, comforting to realize that people had lives and personal concerns apart from the politics of the time.

The movie is a murder mystery, a crime-and-punishment saga, and one or two or three of the sadder love stories yet told on film. The central theme is neither murder nor love, but defining the parameters for a decent life on this planet.

For some, the movie will drag on. The run time is just over two hours. There are, after all, 25 years to cover. The plot is thin. But the characters are fascinating, and the nuanced acting and directing are hypnotic.

My movie buddy admitted that she dozed off once, but we both loved finding out the secrets in their eyes.