The Secret in Their Eyes

The Secret in Their Eyes is a 2009 Argentine-Spanish crime drama film produced, edited, and directed by Juan José Campanella from a screenplay by Campanella and Eduardo Sacheri, and based on Sacheri's 2005 novel La pregunta de sus ojos. It stars Ricardo Darín, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago, Javier Godino, and Guillermo Francella. The film focuses on the relationship between judiciaries Benjamín Espósito (Darín) and Irene Hastings (Villamil) and their investigation into a murder case in 1970s Argentina. The film marks the fourth feature-length collaboration between Campanella and Darín, after Same Love, Same Rain (1999), Son of the Bride (2001), and Moon of Avellaneda (2004). It uses a nonlinear narrative and explores the strenuous political and social climate in Argentina throughout the later 20th century. The film is acclaimed for its feature of a continuous five-minute-long shot that runs through a large stadium in which a football match was being held. The Secret in Their Eyes was theatrically released in Argentina on August 13, 2009. It received critical acclaim for its screenplay, thematic content, Campanella's direction, and the performances of the cast. The film grossed over $34 million worldwide, becoming the second highest-grossing Argentine film ever, behind Nazareno Cruz and the Wolf (1975). It received numerous awards and nominations, winning for Best Foreign Language Film at the 82nd Academy Awards and for Best Spanish Language Foreign Film at the 24th Goya Awards. Plot In June 1974, judiciary agent Benjamin Espósito investigates the rape and murder of Liliana Colotto de Morales. Espósito promises her husband, Ricardo, he will find the killer and give him a life sentence. Espósito is helped by his alcoholic partner Pablo Sandóval and the new department chief Irene Menéndez-Hastings. Romano, Espósito's rival, accuses a pair of construction workers (one of whom is a Bolivian immigrant) of the murder, which angers Espósito upon discovering that both of them were tortured to obtain a confession.