This morning, it was typhoon signal number one. Now, it is upped to number three. I often visit my birth town in winter, seldom experience the rain. In a way, the rain today brought back the sweet memory of my study life.
Cynthia and I were in IFC Mall when we stumbled upon a cinema. Ritually, we scanned through the program just in case something interesting came up, with the right timing and not too crowded. Interestingly, a Spanish movie fitted the bill. Although we are not quite into the genre of crime, we were happy to take the opportunity to give our Spanish some exercise, especially when we have given our class a one week holiday break.
“The Secret in Their Eyes” or the Spanish title “El Secreto de Sus Ojos” is surprisingly a great movie (consider the fact that for us, it is a “walk-in” movie). Little did we know that it has won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Only when the script mentioned “Buenos Aires” did we realize that it is an Argentine film. It is an intriguing story that weaved through a rape-murder case in a flashback style. It has enough twists that keeps the 127 minutes movie engaging. It has enough drama and character development that makes it more than a story of solving a crime. In terms of timeline, the story spanned 25 years between 1974 to 1999. In 1974, the main character Benjamín Espósito was a federal justice agent. In 1999, he has retired and decided to write a novel on the rape-murder case he worked on. A case he handled together with his assistance Pablo Sandoval and his department chef Irene Menéndez-Hastings. Besides crime solving, much of the story is dedicated to Espósito’s friendship with his assistance and the romance with his chef.
“The Secret in Their Eyes” is a moving story, a tragedy. It is artistically made supported by beautiful classical soundtrack. From the Spanish learning point of view, we feel that the Argentines speak with a different accent. It took us some time to adjust. A good practice nonetheless. As for the cinema, we love the sofa seat. The staffs were courteous, well dressed. They thanked the crowd for coming as we exited. That is what service industry should be like.