Journal Entry #18

The Secret In Their Eyes

Movie:  2009, color, 127 min. (Argentinian) 

• Director: Juan Jose Campanella
• Actors: 

Ricardo Darín Soledad Villamil Guillermo Francella Pablo Rago Javier Godino Mariano Argento José Luis Gioia

Benjamin travels back in time when he starts writing his novel about a murder he worked on. This time travel reignites old feelings for a lover he was never able to have a life with. 

What meaning is their to the title?

Translated from Spanish, The Secret In Their Eyes means to the film the theme. There is a secret in everyone that cannot be professed. This secret cannot be told because it would disturb the natural order of things. In this particular case, Benjamin must retain his love with Irene because she is of higher stature then him, she has a life ahead of her and most obviously she is his boss. Irene must withhold her love for the very same reasons but also because it would disrupt the case they we're working on and because for fear of vulnerability she cannot confess her feelings for him. The killer has a secret that can only be seen through his eyes in the particular scene where he changes from one personage to another. And lastly, the husband of the victim must never tell his secret because Benjamin would be put into a very awkward situation of choosing the law or rightly deserved punishment, a justified revenge. 

How does the director play with colors? 

The director plays with all sorts of color blocking. He uses vivid colors and a few of them in even one scene. The dark colors in the bar, the haven of Sandoval represent his wrestling with that darkness inside him which is alcoholism. The long black hair of Irene and her hippie like-white, innocent clothing represents her rashness and guts in the black and the white represents her honest demeanor in a workplace at that time so corrupt. Later on when Benjamin and Irene reconnect she is wearing a more masculine suit, that is so strongly red, vivid, flamenco red. Something that embodies the passion in their relationship. The killer is often in tweed like material, an unappealing material to the touch just like the character himself. He is in grayscale colored suits, his plain, boring, dull side.