Being labeled as a crime mystery does little justice to this film. A crime mystery typically works like a puzzle, with each clue further exposing, or further confusing, the detective, and with him/her, the audience. This film works more like an onion. The crime is being cracked quite quickly but additional layers of the characters surrounding the crime, continually being exposed, adding depth to the plot and the journey taken by the main characters. Ultimately this film presents the question whether the jailer of his own demons – be is secrets, fear, inferiority, or a murderer - is being punished almost equally as his prisoner, by choosing to lock the demons in a cell and remain at guard. Letting go, it seems, is not that easy to do. Don’t we all know it…
Aside from a smart story (the film, which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, is based on a novel titled The Question in Their Eyes), terrific acting, and mostly good direction, the film suffers, at times, from issues of pace and a couple of unanswered questions related to character motivation. But all in all, it is a well-made recommended film.