The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)

A stylish and intelligent Argentine period noir with hardboiled thrills, strong cast chemistry and beautiful cinematography that explores passion, memory, regret and justice. The unrequited love story and murder mystery grip throughout despite some obvious plotting.

A taut thriller and unrequited love story that indicts Argentina's military junta past, with beautifully shaded performances especially from Darín and a suspenseful stadium chase scene in an intelligently touching spellbinder.

The review finds the film intelligent but conventional, an actor’s showcase with glossy values that is a little too polite and lacks passion and memorable images. It praises the adult puzzle about love, loss, justice, and memory but notes Campanella keeps the material at arm’s length.

An enormously pretentious time-hopping police procedural with naff music and shallow themes of injustice and true love that ultimately offers not enough reward despite diverting elements like the stadium chase.

The critic dismisses the film as playing like a Law & Order episode that only passes for high art because it is foreign, calling it a bad film regardless of language. It singles out the formulaic structure, lack of originality, and Academy’s poor judgment in awarding it an Oscar.

The critic calls it an enthralling and profoundly human piece of cinema with a heart, comparing it favourably to top Law & Order episodes set in a fascist state. Standout elements include Ricardo Darín’s lead performance and a breathtaking stadium chase sequence.

The film is described as well-made with intelligent use of humour and two outstanding performances, though a full class below the other Oscar nominees it beat. It is recommended as worth seeing despite the questionable elevation of its Oscar win.

The piece frames the Oscar winner as undeserving, highlighting limits of vision in its storytelling and execution. It critiques the film's failure to fully deliver on its ambitious themes despite the award recognition.

The haunting mystery solved by a haunted mind delivers many pleasures in a beautifully calibrated traditional movie that marries topic, talent, and tone. Darín anchors the film as the spine connecting its characters across time with precision and artistry.

An unusual mix of frustrated love story and police procedural that packs an emotional punch thanks to strong lead performances and warm chemistry, despite a rambling mid-section, leisurely pacing and unfocused plotting at times.

The film is a romance-cum-thriller that on the surface seems a conservative Oscar choice but deeper probes historical memory, vigilante justice and Argentina's dictatorship traumas. Darín delivers a minimalist central performance that anchors the examination of the past.

The critic praises the film as one of subtlety, distinction and depth, noting its emotional force and virtuosic narrative skill in blending past and present, private lives and social currents. They highlight the strong central performances and atmospheric photography while acknowledging occasional implausibilities outweighed by the overall impact.

The critic calls it a riveting Argentine thriller with witty dialogue and poignant love stories that interweaves personal lives with a 25-year manhunt. Praise goes to the communicative director, excellent cast led by Ricardo Darín, and subtle political commentary, with only minor complaint about overly long endings.

The critic finds the Oscar-winning Argentine thriller worthy and compelling but not on the level of stronger competition like A Prophet or The White Ribbon. It is praised as a well-made noir with strong performances, especially from Ricardo Darín, and an effective football-stadium chase sequence.

The movie is a powerfully imagined legal thriller that blends romanticism and realism with rhapsodic urgency, flashes of violence, and humor. A few scenes veer toward telenovela melodrama, but the labyrinthine entertainment rewards discussion afterward.

The film is an attractive, messy drama that mixes violence, comedy, and three strong performances while shifting between a whodunit, romance, and ghost story. Campanella tends to over-embellish the material with sudden mood shifts and outlandish twists.

The review calls it an impressive, engrossing cop-lawyer thriller mixing lush romanticism with hard-boiled realism and a poetic, melancholy tale of murder and love. It notes some corny moments but praises the understated seductive melancholy, emotional connections with characters, and rewarding adult drama.

The film is a deeply rewarding throwback that is simply mesmerizing, packing love stories, noir thriller elements, comedy, political critique, and food for thought into compelling grown-up entertainment. It marks a darker, more complex direction and Campanella’s finest work to date.

The critic calls it old-fashioned in the best senses, with a strong story mixing romance, thriller aspects, comedy and political intrigue that zips through time while remaining satisfying. Singles out the director's skill at changing tack between tones and making all the characters feel believable.

It absolutely deserved the Oscar as one of the most satisfying and emotionally rich thrillers in years, with great humanity that is funny, touching and gripping. Singles out the audacious unbroken five-minute soccer stadium sequence as a standout.

The critic praises the film's twisty mystery, political commentary on Argentina's dictatorship, and striking single-shot soccer stadium sequence as highlights of this Oscar-winning thriller. The unexpected ending exploring justice, memory, and obsession stands out as particularly memorable.

The critic calls the Argentinean drama a quiet revelation that rises above its crime framework into a moving parable about accepting love. They single out the repressed passion in Ricardo Darín's lead performance and the director's use of dry humour to balance emotional frustration with the story's undercurrents.

The film is described as a rather silly and flabby thriller despite a strong central performance from Ricardo Darín and stylish direction. The critic complains that the plotting strains credibility, with groan-worthy elements and a laughable, sentimental climax.