She Said/He Said:
The Secret in their Eyes
By D. James Ruccio III
June 24, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Still, even reviewing our options at our local, fall-back art-house provided little relief. I used to go see movies there and some were quite adequate. But even this theater was a faux representation of a true art house (having grown up in the beginnings of the Era of the Multiplex I'm not sure I'm even qualified to define an art house but I have my suspicions) . The lobby, theaters and even seats for this fakery are slick, remodeled representations of what art houses used to be. Everything is cleaned on a four hour schedule. The process is meticulously recorded on a chart hung on the back of the bathroom door with someone's initials and a date and time so that we all know that this establishment considers public hygiene a sacred duty. You can still get a microwaved chicken quesadilla and a diet Mountain Dew in three different sizes and recycle all containers as you exit the lobby.
I was feeling particularly rebellious and the thought of this again just wouldn't do.
We are in luck, however, to live in an area which features a few different places to see movies. It was then I recalled a long forgotten theater. This is an art house. Nothing has changed in 25 years. The last update to the snack bar was...Twix. The idea of cleaning anything regularly, aside from the restrooms, is a vague notion at best. The seats are made well before the Ergonomic Sciences. The decor is not reminiscent of another time, it is from another era entirely. It has, for example, what is quaintly refer to as a "minimax" of 17 seats (it's actually 14...I counted them) along with the normal theaters. Instead of commercials for some show called "Burn Notice," we're treated to Bugs Bunny cartoons before the movie. The theater simultaneously enhances the experience of watching a film and yet gets out of the way of it entirely.
Caroline and I went to this theater in hopes of seeing a movie that might be the least bit memorable and we chose last year's Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film, The Secret in their Eyes. The film is based on Eduardo Sacheri's novel La Pregunta de sus Ojos (The Question in Their Eyes).
The story is set sometime relatively in present day Argentina. The Secret in their Eyes recounts life for retired federal court investigator (a sort of police detective) Benjamín Esposito, played by Ricardo Darin. Esposito pays a visit to his former colleague/supervisor Irene Menéndez Hastings (Soledad Villamil) . Superficially, the visit is to reacquaint with her, all the while informing her that he will be filling his time by writing about a case from 25 years ago. The case involved the brutal rape and murder of a young woman. The woman's husband, bank employee Ricardo Morales (Pablo Rago), is devastated by the event. The murder is eventually pinned on two anonymous workers by Esposito's rival, Romano.
While investigating the case, however, Esposito comes across a suspect, Isidoro Gómez (Javier Godino). Esposito, using highly honed investigative instincts, suspects Gomez at first by simply alertly observing the man, an acquaintance to the victim, staring at her in several photos. Esposito and his subordinate, Pablo Sandoval (Guillermo Francella) eventually track him to a soccer stadium and in the film's signature action sequence, chase him through the corridors, bathroom and finally onto the field. With the advent of digital technology, filmmakers have fully embraced hand held filming devices and the immediacy they provide. Several high profile directors, Michael Mann for one, have used the technology in interesting ways. However, the sequence in The Secret in your Eyes is something entirely different. There is a feral quality to the images as a man is hunted. It is vaguely reminiscent of Janusz Kaminski's revolutionary opening sequence in Saving Private Ryan for its primal urgency.
The Secret in their Eyes pays exquisite attention to characterization. It really is its central purpose, as the interactions between them slowly begins to tease out the theme and meaning of the entire movie. Each character is richly realized in a way that is rarely seen in films by American movie audiences. One of the finer performances, for example, by Guillermo Francella as Pablo Sandoval is a subtle character. In the crass hands of a less skilled screenplay, this character, an unabashed alcoholic, would be portrayed for stray laughs and little more. Here, however, the film treats the character with an almost parental care. He's given purpose, depth and emotions other than those connected to his faults. He is an incredibly intelligent, intuitive investigator. He provides much of the movie's humor but it's rarely the material written for a hapless sidekick. Much of the humor is observational, things that the more perceptive of us see everyday, that makes us chuckle to ourselves and that mostly goes unnoticed. It's disarming and draws us into the character, adding to the movie, and above all is authentic.
The central relationship in The Secret in their Eyes is between Esposito and Irene Menéndez Hastings. It is what propels the film and allows it to discuss its themes. The two characters conduct a subtle, furtive and gentle courtship that is barely perceptible. It hardly progresses but is obvious to both that a longing in them exists for the other. And yet Esposito's reluctance to profess his feelings, perhaps aware of the class differences that exists between the two, makes him shy away from her. His inaction weighs him down with regret until they are reunited many years later.
In their relationship, the movie beautifully discusses the effect of the passage of time on individuals. It portrays the effect of regret and how that can change the course of a person's life. At one point, a character says, "You'll have 100 pasts and no future." Each of the characters reflects on the choices they've made and the effect of passing time on them because of the choices made. And yet, The Secret in their Eyes is hopeful. It teases the audience with the possibility that choices are not immutable perhaps. The movie also suggests that we know what is correct for us. We know what we are meant to do, which relationships are authentic for us and when defining moments are upon us.
The Secret in their Eyes may be an uncharacteristic film for American audiences as well. One of the ways the film swerves wildly away from typical themes is its exploration of male machismo, in particular in cultures not entirely familiar to Americans. Intense passion is a central emotion in the film. Most of the male characters display highly developed senses of masculinity whether it's the more silly machismo or the more authentic sense of what it is to be a man. Raging passion is displayed. At one point Esposito is so angered by the framing of the construction workers by his rival, Romano, that he lunges at him, threatens to expose and kill him. The film's most shocking example of machismo, however, is when a character literally displays his genitalia when a woman knowingly challenges his masculinity. The affront is so severe, he is literally unable to contain himself.
The film subtly plays with societal conflict as well, as it's set in 1970s Argentina during the time of violent political upheaval around the authoritarian regime of Juan Peron. The Secret in their Eyes never overtly deals with political aspects other than when the characters are confronted by political, class or societal realities. They are not discussed by the characters but simply acknowledged as real and something to be factored in or dealt with.
Each of the characters in The Secret in their Eyes is powerfully affected by time. They each assess the choices made or not made and the consequences of the chosen path on their lives. The stunning ending serves as the film's most shocking example of consequences. It is worthy of its surprise win of Best Foreign Language film from last year's Oscars over the expected contenders of A Prophet and The White Ribbon. It also won Best Spanish Language Foreign film at the Goyas (The Goya's being the Spanish equivalent to the American Oscars). If you're tired of going to the movies just to watch something blow up, you may want to consider The Secret in their Eyes. And if you can, see it at the most obscure movie house possible. Don't sneak in snacks. Buy something from the concession stand and make a donation while you're at it.
Lastly, rest assured that while we enjoyed a detour into the more obscure, He Said, She Said will continue to review both the regular Hollywood fare and occasionally something with subtitles.