El secreto de sus ojos 2009

Critics score:
91 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Romantic obsession at its two extremes is explored with sympathy and intelligence in the thriller The Secret in Their Eyes... Read more

Michael Phillips, At the Movies: It's a real feast. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: An attractive, messy drama riddled with violence and edged with comedy that comes with a hint of Grand Guignol, a suggestion of politics and three resonant, deeply appealing performances. Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: The performances are what frequently hold the film together when it seems at loose ends, namely from stars Ricardo Darin, Soledad Villamil and Guillermo Francella. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: This beautiful film, directed with subtlety and grace by Juan Jose Campanella, really is about moving from fear to love. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Though the story occasionally seems a little too convenient to be true, it doesn't matter a whit, as the filmmaking is so skilled. Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: Though unimpeachably intelligent and sophisticated, the film nonetheless has no grit under its fingernails: Here's a story about a crime of passion, unrequited love, and political upheaval, yet Campanella keeps it all at arm's length. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: The secret here is that the movie is rather tasteless. It has the high, slightly nauseating stink of perfume on garbage. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: You never quite know where it's going, yet its mixture of tones and colors and melodrama and mature, mellow romance is irresistible. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: A bit too symbolic for its own good Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: The entire film is stocked with images that reflect a character and story in flux. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Campanella approaches the material with a classic hand -- no quick cuts, special effects or gimmicks here. This is a flesh-and-blood movie, and both Darin and Villamil bring earthy presence to the story. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: The performances are tender, the script elegant, the cinematography (especially during a virtuoso chase scene in a soccer stadium) artful. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: Like the murder at the heart of this tale, Secret is bound to linger in the memory for years. Read more

Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News: Its real beauty is in letting you take from it whatever you want. Should you choose to peel back the layers, you will discover rich lessons about love, loneliness, fear and redemption. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Although it is structured like a thriller...The Secret in Their Eyes is really a cautionary tale about the consequences of a life of too much apprehension and propriety. Read more

David Denby, New Yorker: From scene to scene, the movie has an enormously vital swing to it. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The Secret in Their Eyes is, ostensibly, a murder mystery -- but that part of the story is the least interesting. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR: Leaping around in time, Campanella uses the aftermath of [a] sadistic murder case to expose not just law-enforcement shortcomings but fault lines in Argentine society. Read more

V.A. Musetto, New York Post: A nearly perfect love story/murder mystery that unfortunately falters at the end. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Engages with style, suspense, and seriousness of intent. Criminal intent and otherwise. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Sometimes I watch a film unspool like a tape measure, and I can sense how far we are from the end. Sometimes my imagination is led to live right along with it. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: This spellbinder from Argentina will sneak up and floor you. It's that good. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Exalted and frustrating, graceful in its filmmaking and clumsy in its storytelling. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: It's a cracking good murder mystery that, by the time the final twist kicks in, transforms into an moving meditation on memory and justice. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Expertly written, played and directed, it's the best romantic mystery since L.A. Confidential. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Although it has some memorably disquieting scenes, this story of long-delayed justice is sustained by its melancholy more than its thrills. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: The wonder is that the film balances its many genres, from the thorns of murder to the bloom of romance to the thickets of politics, with such easy grace. Read more

Ben Kenigsberg, Time Out: Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: It's a film of enormous pretension and not enough reward. Read more

Jonathan Holland, Variety: A deeply rewarding throwback to the unself-conscious days when cinema still strove to be magical. Read more

Nicolas Rapold, Village Voice: Say what you will, but the lead actors in Argentine director Juan Jose Campanella's latest film do have lovely (or at least handsomely shot) peepers. But the secrets you ultimately find therein are hilarious. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: An absorbing story of the unlikely intersection of an unrequited love affair and an unresolved crime, this taut thriller features some bravura cinematic moments and memorable performances from an exceptionally attractive cast of players. Read more