Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, SECRETS OF THE HEART (SECRETOS DEL CORAZON) is an elegant and poignant tale of the mysterious and magical adult world as seen through the eyes of Javi, a nine-... more »year-old child, growing up in a small provincial town in the 1960s. Javi believes he can hear the voices of the dead and that they whisper to him their secrets, which were left unspoken in life. At his mother's house in the mountains, he is fascinated by the room in which his father died and which his mother carefully keeps locked. But, Javi also learns that the living have their secrets as well. As Javi begins to comprehend these secrets of the heart, he takes us on a journey where we are offered "The irresistible opportunity to see the world once again through the eyes of a child." (Seattle Film Festival)« less
"If you like European films, you'll love this one! I saw it a couple of years ago at an International Film Festival and loved it. This is type of movie that explores human emotions: deep, slow paced and sometimes funny. Filmed in Spain in a small provincial town in the 1960's, it tells the story of nine-year-old boy, curious about the secrets enclosed in a room that is always kept locked: the room where his father was found dead. Through his relationship with his immediate family: mother, brother, aunt, uncle, he comes up with the answer.Worth seeing!"
Pleasant quiet movie
lillirod | 09/22/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"A pleasure to watch.The main character, a nine year old child appears in every single scene as he discovers sexuality in the adult members of his familiy. The VDV does not contain any features and the subtitles cannot be turned off."
Secrets of the Heart
cdg_orders | USA | 07/25/2004
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This is an elegant and poignant tale of the mysterious and magical adult world as seen through the eyes of Javi, a nine year old child, growing up in a small provincial town in the 1960's.
Javi believes he can hear the voices of the dead and that they whisper to him their secrets, which were left unspoken in life. At his mother's house in the mountains, he is fascinated by the room in which his father died and which his mother carefully keeps locked. But, Javi learns that the living have their secrets as well.
As Javi begins to comprehend these secrets of the heart, he takes us on a journey where we are offered "The irresistible opportunity to see the world once again through the innocent eyes of a child."
There is no nudity in this movie.
"
Secrets of the Heart a moving heartwarmer.
A. Paul Carlock, Jr. | Illinois | 12/13/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have watched--and collected--thousands of movies. This is one of my favorites, and I am sure it will be one of yours too, providing you get the oportunity to watch it. Highly recommended."
Mysteries . . .
Ronald Scheer | Los Angeles | 10/31/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This Spanish film, set in early 1960s, tells a familiar story, about a nine-year-old boy's slow discovery of the mysteries of adulthood. It successfully recreates the puzzled feelings of fascination and revulsion that characterize preadolescent curiosity about what adults know and try to keep from children. The slow pace of the film nicely reflects that state of suspended animation - of waiting impatiently to learn what all the secrecy is about.
The pleasure of this particular story is watching the truth begin to dawn in the awareness of a particular boy, Javi, whose wide-eyed and open mouthed face often fill the screen in closeup, as like a sleuth he begins to put together the clues he finds around him in the behavior of the adults who rule his life - two unmarried aunts, his mother, an uncle, a neighbor, his sullen grandfather, and the mother of his close friend. During the few short months in which the story takes place, there is a suicide, a pregnancy, a wedding, revelations about the death of Javi's father, and intimations of sorrows and ecstasies far beyond his understanding. It is a satisfying journey to take with him."