Campanella, who overconfidently takes his time, outfits the film with ludicrous interrogation scenes, a drunken colleague who provides comic relief and redemptive tragedy, and a climactic flood of memories that plays like a trailer.
The Secret in Their Eyes(El secreto de sus ojos)
✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Argentina, Spain · 2009
Rated R · 2h 9m
Director Juan José Campanella
Starring Ricardo Darín, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago, Javier Godino
Genre Crime, Drama, Mystery
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
A former legal counsellor, now retired, decides to use an unresolved case from his career as inspiration for a novel he's writing. However, revisiting the past only makes him more desperate for closure, and his passion for finding the truth is reignited. A taut, twisty thriller worthy of a spot amongst the best.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
It's powerfully and richly imagined: a genre-busting movie that successfully combines the utmost in romanticism with the utmost in realism.
A deeply rewarding throwback to the unself-conscious days when cinema still strove to be magical, The Secrets in their Eyes is simply mesmerizing.
About as deep as a kiddie pool, which isn't to say it's an unpleasant frolic.
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
The performances are tender, the script elegant, the cinematography (especially during a virtuoso chase scene in a soccer stadium) artful.
Boxoffice Magazine by Pete Hammond
Campanella has laced his story with twists and turns worthy of Hitchcock and the framing device of the novel (which forces the protagonist to sort out the whole thing through writing) is ingenious.
Miami Herald by Rene Rodriguez
Although it is structured like a thriller, and its plot dominated by Benjamin's detective work, The Secret in Their Eyes is really a cautionary tale about the consequences of a life of too much apprehension and propriety.
The film sprawls across two decades and 127 minutes, but there isn't a memorable image in it.
The secret here is that the movie is rather tasteless. It has the high, slightly nauseating stink of perfume on garbage.
Users who liked this film also liked
Amores Perros
(Amores perros)
Love. Betrayal. Death.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mexico • 2000
- Director Alejandro González Iñárritu
- Cast Gael García Bernal, Vanessa Bauche, Goya Toledo, Alvaro Guerrero, Emilio Echevarría, Jorge Salinas
- Genre Drama, Thriller
- Available on MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, Tubi TV, Pluto TV, Freevee
Talk to Her
(Hable con ella)
Two men share an odd friendship while they care for two women who are both in deep comas.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain • 2002
- Director Pedro Almodóvar
- Cast Leonor Watling, Rosario Flores, Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti, Mariola Fuentes, Geraldine Chaplin
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, YouTube, AMC on Demand
All About My Mother
(Todo sobre mi madre)
After Manuela’s teenage son Esteban is tragically killed, she searches for Esteban’s biological father, a transgender woman.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain, France • 1999
- Director Pedro Almodóvar
- Cast Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Penélope Cruz, Candela Peña, Antonia San Juan, Rosa María Sardà
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
The Lives of Others
(Das Leben der Anderen)
Before the fall of the Berlin Wall, East Germany's secret police listened to your secrets.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2006
- Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
- Cast Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Mühe, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur, Thomas Thieme, Hans-Uwe Bauer
- Genre Drama, Thriller
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand
La Jetée
The story of a post-nuclear war experiment with time travel, constructed almost entirely from still photos.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1962
- Director Chris Marker
- Cast Jean Négroni, Hélène Chatelain, Davos Hanich, Jacques Ledoux, André Heinrich, Jacques Branchu
- Genre Romance, Science Fiction
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Amazon Video
Lovers of the Arctic Circle
(Los amantes del Círculo Polar)
Otto and Ana are kids when they meet each other, by chance, and realize that their names are both palindromes.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain, France • 1998
- Director Julio Medem
- Cast Najwa Nimri, Fele Martínez, Joost Siedhoff, Peru Medem, Sara Valiente, Víctor Hugo Oliveira
- Genre Drama, Mystery, Romance
- Available on Kanopy
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
(Le scaphandre et le papillon)
The true story of a man who suffered a stroke that paralyzed his entire body except for his left eye.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, United States • 2007
- Director Julian Schnabel
- Cast Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josée Croze, Anne Consigny, Patrick Chesnais, Niels Arestrup
- Genre Drama
- Available on Hoopla, Showtime Apple TV Channel, Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel , Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
(Män som hatar kvinnor)
Only those discarded by society can uncover its most ugly truths
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Sweden, Denmark, Germany • 2009
- Director Niels Arden Oplev
- Cast Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre, Sven-Bertil Taube, Peter Andersson, Peter Haber
- Genre Drama, Thriller, Crime, Mystery
- Available on Fandor, fuboTV, MZ Choice Amazon Channel, Amazon Video, Crackle, Plex, Plex Channel
Nine Queens
(Nueve reinas)
Two con artists try to swindle a stamp collector by selling him a counterfeit sheet of rare stamps.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Argentina • 2000
- Director Fabián Bielinsky
- Cast Ricardo Darín, Gastón Pauls, Leticia Brédice, María Mercedes Villagra, Gabo Correa, Pochi Ducasse
- Genre Crime
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Exam
How far would you go to win the ultimate job?
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2009
- Director Stuart Hazeldine
- Cast Luke Mably, Chukwudi Iwuji, Adar Beck, Jimi Mistry, Nathalie Cox, Pollyanna McIntosh
- Genre Thriller, Mystery
- Available on AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube
Love/Hate
Dublin's criminal kingpins vie for control of the lucrative and illicit drug trade.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Ireland • 2010
- Creator Stuart Carolan
- Cast Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Laurence Kinlan
- Genre Crime, Drama
- Available on Amazon Video, Amazon Prime Video, Tubi TV, BritBox, BritBox Amazon Channel, The Roku Channel, Plex, Freevee, Britbox Apple TV Channel , Plex Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Cell 211
(Celda 211)
The story of two men on different sides of a prison riot -- the inmate leading the rebellion and the young guard trapped in the revolt, who poses as a prisoner in a desperate attempt to survive the ordeal.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain, France • 2009
- Director Daniel Monzón
- Cast Luis Tosar, Alberto Ammann, Antonio Resines, Carlos Bardem, Félix Cubero, Marta Etura
- Genre Action, Thriller, Drama
- Available on AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel
Chinese Take-Away
(Un cuento chino)
Roberto meets Jun, a Chinese man searching for his uncle after being assaulted by a taxi driver and his henchmen.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Argentina, Spain • 2011
- Director Sebastián Borensztein
- Cast Ricardo Darín, Muriel Santa Ana, Javier Pinto, Ignacio Huang, Enric Cambray, Iván Romanelli
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Kanopy
7th Floor
(Séptimo)
One day, Marcelo’s children disappear after playing a game. Soon, the kidnapper calls.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain, Argentina • 2013
- Director Patxi Amézcua
- Cast Ricardo Darín, Belén Rueda, Luis Ziembrowski, Osvaldo Santoro, Jorge D'Elía, Guillermo Arengo
- Genre Drama, Thriller
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, AMC on Demand
Wild Tales
(Relatos salvajes)
We can all lose control...
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Argentina, Spain • 2014
- Director Damián Szifrón
- Cast Ricardo Darín, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Darío Grandinetti, Érica Rivas, Nancy Dupláa
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Hulu, Starz Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Vudu, AMC on Demand
Neruda
A renowned poet. An unknown inspector. A legendary manhunt.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Chile, Argentina, France • 2016
- Director Pablo Larraín
- Cast Gael García Bernal, Luis Gnecco, Mercedes Morán, Emilio Gutiérrez Caba, Diego Muñoz, Alejandro Goic
- Genre Drama
- Available on Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, VUDU Free, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
My Masterpiece
(Mi obra maestra)
The Story Of A S̶c̶a̶m̶ Friendship
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Argentina, Spain • 2018
- Director Gastón Duprat
- Cast Guillermo Francella, Luis Brandoni, Raúl Arévalo, Andrea Frigerio, María Soldi
- Genre Comedy
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Man Up!
(Un vrai bonhomme)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2019
- Director Benjamin Parent
- Cast Thomas Guy, Benjamin Voisin, Isabelle Carré, Laurent Lucas, Nils Othenin-Girard, Tasnim Jamlaoui
- Genre Drama, Comedy
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Historias lamentables
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain • 2021
- Director Javier Fesser
- Cast Chani Martín, Athenea Mata, Fernando Sansegundo, Pol López, Laura Gómez de la Cueva, Matías Janick
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads