The Hidden Face

Details

Summaries

Shattered by the unexpected news of their irreversible break-up, an aspiring orchestra conductor is puzzled by his girlfriend's mysterious and seemingly inexplicable case of disappearance. But can he look beyond the facts?

Adrián, a talented orchestra conductor, receives a video message from his beloved Belén, telling him, with tears in her eyes, that she is leaving him; she cannot live with him anymore. Shattered by the unexpected news of their irreversible break-up and puzzled by Belén's inexplicable decision, Adrián receives help from the local police to solve the knotty case of her unaccountable disappearance. However, with Belén still missing, can Adrián think outside the box and look beyond the facts? After all, a lie can hide the truth, but it can't change it.—Nick Riganas

Details

Keywords
  • female frontal nudity
  • disappearance
  • cheating boyfriend
  • missing girl
  • missing girlfriend
Genres
  • Thriller
  • Mystery
  • Drama
Release date Sep 15, 2011
Motion Picture Rating (MPA) R
Countries of origin United States Spain Colombia
Language Spanish
Filming locations Bogotá, Colombia
Production companies Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales (ICAA) Fondo para el Desarrollo Cinematografico Programa Ibermedia

Box office

Budget $2600000
Gross worldwide $6318409

Tech specs

Runtime 1h 37m
Color Color
Aspect ratio 2.35 : 1

Synopsis

The film opens with Adrián (Quim Gutierrez), a young orchestra conductor, viewing a video of his girlfriend, Belén (Clara Lago) telling him she is leaving him. Adrián becomes distraught. While drinking away his sorrows at a bar, he meets Fabiana (Martina Garcia) and they have a relationship where Fabiana moves into the house that Adrián was sharing with Belén. Adrián becomes a suspect in the disappearance of Belén; however, the investigators can find no evidence of Adrian's involvement in Belén's dissappearance.

It is revealed that the house is owned by a German lady who shows Belén a secret room built to hide her husband just in case someone came to look for him because he was a former Nazi SS officer. The room is self contained and sealed off from sound.

It is also shown that Belén, jealous of Adrián's relationship with one of his violinists, decided to pretend she is leaving him. She creates the video saying she is leaving as she hides in the secret room. The room has some one-way mirrors where she can observe Adrián's reactions. When she decides he has had enough she looks for the key and realizes she lost the key and is now trapped in the room with no way to contact Adrián.

Fabiana finds the key to the secret room, but she doesn't know what it is used for. Fabiana eventually figures out that Belén is trapped in the house because Belén is able to communicate through tapping on the pipes in the secret room. As Fabiana is ready to open the door, she pauses and decides not to rescue Belén because she might lose Adrián.

Fabiana struggles with her decision, but decides to open the door and check on Belén because she can't get a response from her. Also, one of the investigators gave Fabiana pictures of Adrián and the violinist and she herself feels the pangs of jealously. As Fabiana is checking on Belén laying in a bed in the secret room, Belén surprises Fabiana and knocks her out and leaves Fabiana locked in the room. Belén decides to leave the house. She leaves the key to the secret room on a bed for Adrián to find and leaves a picture of the two of them taped to the mirror that acts as the door to the secret room. The final scene shows Belén sitting on the beach alone.

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