Movie: El secreto de sus ojos – The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)

This well-made Argentinean movie received the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2009.

This movie switches between modern day Argentina (the early 2000s) and 25 years ago (the 1970s). When President Peron—who was overwhelmingly popular with the people of Argentina, particularly the working class—died suddenly due to heart disease in 1974, his wife Isabel succeeded him as President and aggressively oppressed opposing groups. She was ousted by a coup d’etat by General Videla and, when Videla became President, the oppression and massacres of opposing groups grew worse. Thus, internal turmoil called the “Dirty War” broke out in Argentina. This movie does not directly depict this situation, but it wouldn’t be possible to understand this movie without knowing this social background.

The theme that persists in this movie is something like, “The only thing that doesn’t change in a man is his passion.” Benjamín, a Buenos Aires criminal trial investigator, was assigned 25 years earlier to investigate the murder of a bank employee’s young wife; he sees a hint of dangerous passion hidden in the eyes of a young man always photographed together with the victim. The reason he noticed it is that he himself always gazed at his beautiful boss Irene with a passion hidden within his eyes. The man in the photo is the suspect, but where is he hiding? Benjamín’s assistant explains to Benjamín, “The only thing that doesn’t change in a man is his passion,” and the two successfully arrest the suspect based on this theory.

However, Benjamín and his beautiful boss Irene who believes in him are forced to release the suspect, amongst the political instability and corruption mentioned above. Danger approaches the life of Benjamín who earnestly conducted the investigation. Irene who is from an upper class family is safe, but Benjamín must leave Buenos Aires to protect himself.

25 years later, society now stabilized, a middle-aged Benjamín visits Buenos Aires to follow up on the murder case of the young wife that closed 25 years earlier and to see Irene who has been promoted to a judge. Beautiful as ever, Irene welcomes Benjamín with a warm and loving heart. Benjamín wants to know about the husband who did everything he could do to find and prosecute his wife’s murderer. How did he overcome the pain of losing his wife? And what is the murderer doing today? Is he still alive somewhere? Or did he already die? The key for solving the mystery is again the theme, “The only thing that doesn’t change in a man is his passion.” Abiding by these words, Benjamin unexpectedly discovers the lives of the bank employee husband and the murderer. And he discovers his desire for Irene that has remained in his heart.

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