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Only a few days ago, I reviewed ‘Memories of Murder‘, the classic Korean investigative crime thriller based on a real incident. In this post, we will look at ‘The Secret in Their Eyes’ (TSITE), an Argentinean movie based on Eduardo Sacheri’s novel ‘La pregunta de sus ojos’, brilliantly directed by Juan José Campanella, which took home the Best Foreign Film award at the 82nd Academy Awards.

The plot begins in 1999 with Benjamin Espósito (Ricardo Darín), a former legal counselor who decides to write a novel based on an unsolved case he investigated decades earlier. He returns to his former place of work to find that his former boss and head of his department, Irene Menéndez Hastings (Soledad Villamil), is now a judge.

The past is revealed through flashbacks and dialogues. It is revealed that Irene, Espósito, and his partner Pablo Sandoval investigated the violent assault and murder of a woman named Liliana.

While perusing Liliana’s photos with Ricardo (Pablo Rago), Liliana’s grieving widower, Espósito notices that a man identified as Gomez (Javier Godino) seems to be eyeing Liliana with morbid fascination.

Espósito and Pablo investigate Gomez, but the investigation is derailed due to unforeseeable mishaps, and the case is closed as a result. A year later, Espósito discovers that Ricardo is trying to track down Gomez.

Pablo, who suffers from a drinking problem, is also gifted with fine deductive skills. Using Pablo’s insights, Espósito and Pablo locate Gomez at a soccer game, and soon Gomez is taken into custody.

Just as Espósito and Irene extract a confession from the sadistic killer, Gomez, fate in the form of Espósito’s adversary would force them to set Gomez free. To the horror of Espósito and Irene, Gomez walks free. Unfortunately for Espósito, he has to tell Ricardo that Gomez will never face justice.

Back in the present, Espósito realizes that he still has to tie up some loose ends. One of them has to do with the investigation, and the other has to do with resolving his feelings for Irene.

While TSITE and ‘Memories of Murder’ are totally different films in plot, atmosphere, and set in largely distant universes, there are some common themes that I wish to cover.

For one thing, there is more to the investigation of a crime or crimes than just the crime itself. This is true regardless of where the crimes and their investigations happen. Besides the due diligence that the investigating parties put in, they need to contend with earthly challenges. In ‘Memories of Murder’, these challenges included the inexperience of the detectives, the dynamics within the team, the lack of sophisticated tools, and the lack of personnel to assist them in carrying out the investigation.

In this movie, Espósito and his peers must contend with the bureaucracy in the system, the politics, and personal vendettas of one of Esposito’s peers who is doing all he can to derail the investigation. The situation is also complicated by Esposito’s feelings for Irene.

If you have not watched this movie or ‘Memories of Murder’, I would strongly recommend that you watch them in succession. For my hard-thinking readers, it will broaden your perspective on how investigations are carried out in different parts of the world and also give you an idea of the toll the experience has on the investigators and the victims of the crime.

I also need to touch upon another message from TSITE. It is that even when one may think the past is behind him or her, there may still be another chapter or two in it that needs to be completed.

This is another must-see movie for thriller fans. It is well directed, has an engrossing screenplay, slick cinematography, and an impressive cast.