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-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)

Average Customer Review: ( 8 customer reviews )
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Worth seeing!

22 of 25 found the following review helpful:

Pleasant quiet movieSep 22, 2001

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.

15 of 20 found the following review helpful:

Secrets of the HeartJul 25, 2004
By cdg_orders
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.

3 of 3 found the following review helpful:

Secrets of the Heart a moving heartwarmer.Dec 13, 2006
By A. Paul Carlock, Jr. "filmfanatic"
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.

2 of 2 found the following review helpful:

Mysteries . . .Oct 31, 2007
By Ronald Scheer "rockysquirrel"
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.

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