Corrie Film club shows The Secret In Their Eyes (El Secreto De Sus Ojos)
This stylish Argentinian thriller was made in 2009 by Juan Jose Campanella, who came into the business through making American TV shows, but that doesn’t restrict his style. El Secreto begins with a sweeping longshot that begins over over a football stadium during an evening match then swoops down into the stands without a break to follow a suspected man in the crowded stands.
Suspicion is the name of the game. A retired Buenos Aires prosecutor called Esposito, broodingly played by Ricardo Darín, is well named, with a mixture between esposa, a husband, and esposado, which means handcuffed. Still haunted by an unsolved crime from the 70s in which a young woman was raped and murdered, he sets out to write a novel about it. This leads him to call on Irene, the woman who had in those days been his boss and with whom he is still hopelessly in love. She is intrigued, and the story then unfolds in mingled flash-back and the present day. It looks back at the terrifying era of the junta and los desaparecidos – the “disappeared” whom nobody dared to ask about. Irene, however, is from Argentina’s upper class, and Esposito is merely an ordinary lawman. A better friend is his colleague, the alcoholic, depressed Sandoval, touchingly played by Guillermo Francella, but he is essentially alone.
The skill of the film is to lead the audience towards a predictable ending and yet to twist at the last moment with a bizarre disclosure just before the credits. Nothing has changed, but we see just why Esposito was so wedded to the case, as an escape from a hopelessly painful state of being in love. The mingling of romance and despair is very Argentinian, but done with a panache that never for a moment allows it to be mawkish.
The showing starts at 8:00pm in Corrie Hall and all are welcome. There is no charge, but contributions towards expenses are gratefully received. This month, a new season begins, so it is the ideal time to join the club. For a mere £15 a year, you get an illustrated three-fold programme with details of the showings until October 2015.
