Secretos del corazón (1997)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Montxo Armendáriz

Writer:

Montxo Armendáriz (writer)

Release Date:

19 March 1997 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Javi and his friend Carlos visit an old house on the outskirts of a small Spanish village. According...

Plot Keywords:

Priest | Abandoned House | School Theater | Young Boy | Parent Child Relationship

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 18 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Carmelo Gómez	...	Tío
Charo López	...	María
Silvia Munt	...	Madre
Vicky Peña	...	Rosa
Andoni Erburu	...	Javi
Álvaro Nagore	...	Juan Zabalza
Íñigo Garcés	...	Carlos
Joan Vallès	...	Abuelo
Joan Dalmau	...	Benito
Chete Lera	...	Ricardo
Manolo Monje	...	Don Bautista
José María Asín	...	Don Alejandro
Carlos Salaberri	...	Bedel
Iñaki Azcona	...	Monaguillo
Raquel Sanchís	...	Carmen

Also Known As:

Bihotz ondoko secretuak (Spain: Basque title) (literal title)
Secrets of the Heart (USA)

Runtime:

105 min | Argentina:104 min

Country:

France | Portugal | Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-8 | Mexico:A

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Spain

Company:

Aiete Films S.A.

Soundtrack:

Amar y vivir

I've got a secret for the director...

This film by Montxo Armendariz did not get wide distribution in the US. It certainly is a much better film than recent arrivals from Europe and it deserved to have been seen by a wider audience.

This is a world seen by the eyes of Javi, who cannot comprehend the many secrets the adults in the family hide from him and the older brother. Everything that on the surface seems to be one way, mean something entirely different when kept away from the inquisitive mind of the young boy. He senses the dishonesty behind all the adults who cannot bring themselves to tell the truth to the boy, even though he is on the right track.

The young actor Andoni Erburu is the best thing going throughout the film. He has a very expressive face, with eyes that sparkle and tell a lot of what's going on in his mind. All the adults lie to him about the real tragedy around him. They all conspire in hiding from the children what they only can guess.

The cast is well balanced. Carmelo Lopez is only seen on a few scenes, even though he's one of the pivotal figures in this story. In general all the actors are very subdued in playing their parts, obviously under the tight rein of Mr. Armendariz, who up to now has made films that are utterly uncommercial, at least, the type to attract a wider audience, and he proves with this film that he can make them as well as some of the other good directors from Spain. Let's hope he leaves the themes of the Civil War behind and start telling us other "secrets" that have the haunting qualities of this film.