The Secret in Their Eyes

"OMG twist ending! what a masterpiece! I never saw it coming". This is totally just another by the numbers thriller with a solid execution and adequate performances.

This could've ended up being a frivolous and forgettable piece of work yet Campanella displays excellent storytelling skills and the characters are expertly portrayed. I'm usually fond of investigation thrillers and I also liked how Campenella didn't shy away from comedy every once in a while. A great film; With "A Prophet", "The White Ribbon" and now this, 2009 proved to be a great year for foreign films. Recommended.

Excellent. A rare feast that has all the right ingredients. This film successfully blends such a multitude of themes and emotions.. duty, decency, hate, revenge, friendship, unrequited love. Beautiful cinematography, amazing performances, flawless direction and production, an awe inspiring cinematic accomplishment. Very highly recommended.

I judged this film even before I saw it mostly due to my disappointment over A Prophet not winning the Best Foreign Film category. But when I saw it, I admit I was blown away. What I expected to be an ordinary, crowd-pleasing, melodramatic thriller turned out to be a complex, richly-layered, and unconventional narrative that does not only focus on the crime and the mystery but also on how it changes the lives of the people involved forever. A heartbreaking, character-driven film.

Good actors keep the so-so plot above water. The exhilarating execution in the stadium sequence aside, this was a disappointingly average thriller which I wouldn't mention in the same breath as 'Un prophete' and certainly not together with 'The White Ribbon', Hanekes superb Golden Palm-winner which was snubbed at the Oscars. That this isn't in the same league is no crime, however, and it's perfectly watchable. Good, even, albeit somewhat overhyped.