¡Hola, amigos! Welcome to Reel 52, wherein we take our tour Around the World in 20 films down to South America!
In Part 1, we’re in an unnamed South American country that’s totally not Uruguay, in the 1972 film State of Siege, directed by Costa-Gavras. It’s a film where you (mostly) know the ending right from the jump. However, you still find yourself rooting for a different outcome throughout. And despite the film’s not committing to a location, this is in fact based on a true story.
Part 2 brings us to Chile and the film The Secret in Their Eyes, a 2009 film directed by Juan José Campanella. It’s a haunting story about a haunted man and a many-years-old mystery. Ricardo Darin and Soledad Villamil star as a star-crossed couple (back in the day) who are brought back together by a new clue in case. It’s got an ending that will both surprise and horrify you. And yet, the breadcrumbs were there for you to find all along.
COMING ATTRACTIONS:
Next time around, we’ve got a couple of films that play with the characters’ minds and their personalities. And by the end, yours might be affected as well. From 1966, it’s Ingmar Bergman’s Persona. Then, from 1970 it’s Performance, directed by Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg. It was actually produced in 1968 but Warner Brothers got a little nervous about the content.