The Secret in Their Eyes

"An unsolved crime. A love story. An unwritten ending."

2009 2h 10m ES

🙌

8.0

BANGER

★8.0TMDB · 2,978

MysteryThrillerDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Hoping to put to rest years of unease concerning a past case, retired criminal investigator Benjamín begins writing a novel based on the unsolved mystery of a newlywed’s rape and murder. With the help of a former colleague, judge Irene, he attempts to make sense of the past.

“An unsolved crime. A love story. An unwritten ending.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

HuluSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

YouTubeRent

Amazon VideoBuy

Apple TV StoreBuy

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Ricardo Darín
Benjamín Espósito
Soledad Villamil
Irene Menéndez Hastings
Pablo Rago
Ricardo Morales
Javier Godino
Isidoro Gómez
Guillermo Francella
Pablo Sandoval
Carla Quevedo
Liliana Coloto
Bárbara Palladino
Compliment Girl
Alejandro Abelenda
Pinche Mariano

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Juan José Campanella
Writers: Juan José Campanella, Eduardo Sacheri
Languages: Spanish
Countries: Argentina, Spain

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $34M — a 17.0× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 17 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Argentina, Spain.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Juan José Campanella, shot by Félix "Chango" Monti. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Federico Jusid. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Juan José Campanella shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ricardo Darín and Soledad Villamil and Pablo Rago carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Juan José Campanella directs. Félix "Chango" Monti behind the camera. Federico Jusid scores. Juan José Campanella cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Argentina, Spain. Dialogue in Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $34M — a 17.0× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
3Released 17 years ago.
4International production across 2 countries: Argentina, Spain.
5Directed by Juan José Campanella, shot by Félix "Chango" Monti. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Federico Jusid. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Juan José Campanella shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Ricardo Darín and Soledad Villamil and Pablo Rago carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "An unsolved crime. A love story. An unwritten ending.".
10IMDB entry: tt1305806 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 14 themes, including "rape", "police", "kidnapping", "homicide".

The technical file

Cinematography: Félix "Chango" Monti
Original score: Federico Jusid
Editing: Juan José Campanella
Costume design: Cecilia Monti
Makeup / hair: Javier Alfonso
VFX supervisor: Rodrigo S. Tomasso
Sound: Carlos Garrido
Stunt coordinator: Marcelo Firmano
Runtime: 130 min · 2h 10m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,000,000
Box office: $33,965,843
Return: 1698% of budget
Original language: ES
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)

Awards

Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Juan José Campanella

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Bazzjazz2018-04-26
★ 9/10
Please, I emplore you. This is the original ‘The secret in their eyes’ without the Hollywood gloss and Pseudo ‘Top Actors/Actresses’ The Agentinian original film that won best foreign film at the Oscars. Deservedly so. Don’t sell yourself short and see the Hollywood redo. It’s got a ending I wish I could tell you about. See This show!
afrebrd2022-11-06
★ 8/10
Story, director, actors--I bow my head. Have not watched many Spanish movies lately, but along with Iñárritu's 'Amores Perros,' and Babenco's 'Pixote,' I’ve really been missing out.
CinemaSerf2024-05-24
★ 7/10
For many years since his retirement "Espósito" (Ricardo Darín) has been haunted by a brutal case of rape and murder that he was unable to solve. He decides that maybe the best way to formulate his thoughts and re-order the investigation is to write a novel, so with the help of an antiquated old Olivetti from his friend, and the new departmental boss "Irene" (Soledad Villamil) he starts to reconstruct the investigation. Using transcripts and photographs, he alights on the woman's schoolfriend "Gómez" (Javier Godino) who has long since disappeared from the scene. Increasingly, he becomes convinced in this man's complicity and now consulting with the dead woman's widower "Morales" (Pablo Rago) we all start to learn a little about the backstory, and it's complex, violent and tragic in equal measure. Can his deductions find the truth? This is a great example of a methodological and forensic drama that looks at the crime, sure, but it takes almost the same amount of time and effort to examine the strongly built characterisations. The nature of obsession, the desire for closure and completion - all addictive aspects of human nature that Darín and the almost perfect pacing from Juan José Campanella deliver here. It's a mystery that works on several levels evaluating the effectiveness of legal process and modern policing whilst reminding us that those exposed to crime are also affected, sometimes profoundly, by what they encounter. This works really well in a cinema, if you can. The frequently intimate style of the photography and the sparing use of light at times makes this an eerily effective watch that is rarely straightforward.