Obsession, passion and mystery fills every frame of this exquisite Argentine export, The Secret in Their Eyes.

Many a time the Academy’s crowning of Best Foreign Film comes with it an air of disbelief. This year both acclaimed French entry A Prophet and Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon lost out to the little seen The Secret in Their Eyes, leaving many to wonder: Did the Oscars drop the ball again? Or, is this Argentine film that good? Happy to say, the latter firmly applies.

Ricardo Darin stars as Benjamin Esposito, a retired criminal investigator, who decides to write a novel based on a 25 year old life changing case, involving the brutal rape and murder of a beautiful young woman.

The film tells its story through two parallel time periods, with the events from 25 years ago presented as a taut investigative procedural equal to David Fincher’s Zodiac, and those in the present a redemptive drama with a high emotional payoff.   

The transitions between the two are faultless, with editor / writer / director Juan Jose Campanella creating a magnificent cinematic adaptation of co-writer Edurado Sachell’s acclaimed novel of a man obsessed with finding the truth, and longing to declare his love to his superior (Solled Villamil).

The performances are simply hypnotic. Esposito channels the same type of dogged charisma seen in vintage Al Pacino, and his chemistry with Villami (also very good) is beyond palpable. Almost stealing the film is Guillermo Francella, whose comedic skills are put to good use in the role of the drunken clerk.

He along with the rest of the cast deliver Campanella and Sachell’s sharp and often witty dialogue, yet even the moments of silence are breathtaking.

Impressive, too, is its visual prowess, Campanella invoking the likes of an in form Brain De Palma with its sweeping camera and voyeuristic sensibilities. A pursuit at a soccer game is a visual treat, as the camera surveys across the thick crowd and thrusts the viewer right in the heat of the chase.

Yet it’s the films ability to engross with a story brimming with emotion in its pursuit of justice, its love story, and its political commentary that will be remembered. Every carefully crafted twist hits hard, revealing the emotional investment placed in its characters and their story.