World Cinema Series Concludes Jan. 8

The new World Cinema Series concludes Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015 with The Secret in Their Eyes  at 6:30 pm at the Southern Maryland Higher Education Center in the Center Hall. This is the fourth film in a series.

The international films have been hosted by James Bershon whose introductions and commentary has won rave reviews and a growing audience.

The Secret in Their Eyes  is a 2009 Argentine crime thriller,  directed by Juan Jose Campanella as a joint project of Spain and Argentina’s film industry. It is a murder mystery that takes place during Argentina’s dirty war (1976-1983) and won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. It was written by Eduardo Sacheri and Mr. Campanella, based on Mr. Sacheri’s novel La pregunta de sus ojos (The Question in Their Eyes). It stars Ricardo Darin.

The story unearths the buried romance between a retired judiciary employee and a judge who had worked together a quarter century ago. They recount their efforts on an unsolved 1974 rape and murder that is an obsession not only for them, but for the victim’s husband and the killer. The double setting frames the period of Argentina’s Dirty War, a violent time when criminality often went unpunished.

Hoping to put to rest years of unease concerning the past case, retired criminal investigator Benjamín Espósito (Ricardo Darín) begins writing a novel based on the decades-old unsolved mystery of a newlywed’s rape and murder. With the help of  Judge Irene Menéndez Hastings (Soledad Villamil), Benjamín attempts to make sense of the past. The journey through his memories sets Benjamín on a thrilling emotional path that leads to a shocking realization.

In 2009 The Secret in Their Eyes won awards in Hollywood and Spain. The picture won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the 82nd Academy Awards. Three weeks before it received the Spanish equivalent with the Goya Award for Best Spanish Language Foreign Film.

Mel Powell, director of the Southern Maryland Higher Education Center which is hosting the series has high praise for The Secret in Their Eyes. He says, “You will never forget this film for the rest of your life.”

*** Not for all audiences. Graphic violence. ***