#22 We just watched this on Netflix streaming.You should too!: The Secret in Their Eyes

The Film: The Secret in Their Eyes

Movies with this kind of patience don’t get made anymore. It seemed to be a movie made by a Argentinian film industry screaming to be noticed. By the way, the Argentinian president is SO hot. She’s a dime. She looks like a former Brazilian Playboy bunny or something. It is FUCKING crazy. Like, we think we’re the progressive, forward-thinking country and they’re the ones with a really hot president. Anyway, that has nothing to do with the movie – but she did pose with the filmmakers after they won the first Oscar for their country.

Moreover, the film follows a retired government official Benjamin as he’s trying to write a novel about a past case that haunts him. The story is told in the past as well as future and we gleam important events as the movie progresses. To be frank, digging into the past makes shit go down.

Why to watch it: It has one of the best action scenes ever made

The common complaint with this movie is that, for the most part, it is slow. Things do take a while to get going. However, out of where comes the scene everybody probably talks about. It is so crazy that I actually leaned over in the movie theater and said, “How the fuck did they do that?”

The chase sequence at the soccer game is top five chases of all time. It does what I love in an action sequence : It infrequently cuts and lets camera technique and characters garner the intensity of the scene. This is the way it should be done. Christopher Nolan and Zach Snyder are famous for this.

Pay attention to this: Camera technique

There is a language to film. There is no doubt about that. I mean, people can flame me all day about it, but that is just the truth. The technique used by Juan José Campanella is impeccable. I’m rarely  in awe of a director’s mastery, (except whenever I watch a Kurosawa or Kurbrick movie) but this guy is a fucking cock star. His use of close-ups and depth-of-focus masterful. Also, his use of special effects for aesthetic and framing sake reminds me of Orson Welles.  I was disappointed that White Ribbon didn’t win for Best Foreign film because I do think its a more “important” film…if that makes sense? You should check that one out too. Make it a double feature.