25/01/11……..Film noir at Thame Cinema 4 All this weekend

SHOWING this Saturday – January 29, The secret in their eyes – Argentina, 2009, 129 minutes, 18 certificate; Directed by Juan Jose Campanella, Starring Carla Quevedo, Guillermo Francella, Ricardo Darin, Soledad Villamil

ITS Oscar night, 2010, and pundits are expecting the foreign language gong to go to one of two apparent shoe-ins: The White Ribbon and The Prophet. But the surprise recipient of the award was this little known romantic crime thriller from Argentina, a crowd pleasing film noir shifting between the present and 1970?s Buenos Aires, a time of political unrest, institutional corruption, ?disappearances? and white knuckle paranoia. Ricardo Darin is Esposito, a retired prosecutor looking back from 2009 on the frustrations and missed opportunities of his life. He has no social life or meaningful relationship apart from his friendship with his morbid alcoholic colleague, Sandoval.

By way of distraction, Esposito embarks on writing a book: an exploration of an unsolved rape and murder case from the 1970?s, an episode that has blighted his life and become a nagging obsession. The project creates the perfect excuse to engage the attention of beautiful fellow prosecutor Irene Menendez Hastings, another long time obsession of Esposito?s, a woman he has been hopelessly in love with for years.

Together they explore and unearth the events of the past, with shock revelations, and an exploration of the reasons for our hero?s fixation with this very unpleasant series of events. The result is a stylish, time-shifting political drama combined with a will-they-won?t-they romance, a film that combines a sound sense of history with a flair for polished and compelling entertainment.

This might be your only chance for a big screen viewing ? don?t miss it.