After a psychiatrist has died, presumably as a result of suicide, his various patients receive a serious mental shock. One of them, an American journalist of some note, can't get his head round the idea that the man killed himself, after so many talks about the value and sanctity of life. The psychiatrist's teenage daughter contacts the journalist and tells him that she believes her father was murdered...
It's probably easiest to start with the bad. So let me start by saying that "The Third Secret" is too artificial, mannered and pretentious for its own good. It's not hard to picture ten or twelve serious-faced experts seated around an oaken table, with their director leader banging his fist on the wood and saying : "Remember, people, we're not 'shooting a movie', we're creating a piece of Art ! Valuable, living Art !" As a result my suspension of disbelief took such a savage beating that it ran away and hid in the back of the garden, whimpering. (I've been trying to tempt it back ever since, with little saucers of milk and crumbled mincemeat pies.)
The movie also contains some strange plot holes and non sequiturs. For instance, in the movie, the expatriate journalist and the teenage daughter of the psychiatrist grow close. It's a Platonic relationship, but it's certainly got a weird and dangerous edge. The girl's uncle verbally attacks the journalist, accusing him of wanting to seduce the girl (which, I've got to say, is not the most outlandish conclusion one could jump to). By way of reaction, the enraged journalist administers a savage, near-fatal beating to the uncle. The movie continues - and guess what ? The journalist and the girl still interact freely, while the uncle is nowhere to be seen. In real life, it is far more likely that the journalist might face charges and, indeed, might be locked up in prison while awaiting trial. Or else he might be sent to a mental institution specialized in violent offenders, that's a possibility too...
On the other hand the movie is not without interest. The acting is good or even very good and the viewer meets a number of interesting characters, such as a resolute, successful judge haunted by the idea that someone somewhere might discover his secret. The sadness, melancholy and introspection of the mood fit the sombre intrigue like a glove, and it all works up to one of the most devastating resolutions you're likely to see.
Finally "The Third Secret" provides an original spin on an old thriller or mystery trope. They are many, the movies in which an average citizen (a hairdresser, a sailor, a painter) becomes an amateur sleuth and begins to investigate a violent or suspicious death. Now this movie has the great good sense to point out that nosing around the lives of fellow human beings might be immoral, unwise or both at the same time, especially when dealing with people who have been dealt a poor hand by Fortune. You'll notice how the journalist hero turns into a journalist anti-hero, charging in like a bull in a china shop and inflicting emotional damage left and right...
It's probably easiest to start with the bad. So let me start by saying that "The Third Secret" is too artificial, mannered and pretentious for its own good. It's not hard to picture ten or twelve serious-faced experts seated around an oaken table, with their director leader banging his fist on the wood and saying : "Remember, people, we're not 'shooting a movie', we're creating a piece of Art ! Valuable, living Art !" As a result my suspension of disbelief took such a savage beating that it ran away and hid in the back of the garden, whimpering. (I've been trying to tempt it back ever since, with little saucers of milk and crumbled mincemeat pies.)
The movie also contains some strange plot holes and non sequiturs. For instance, in the movie, the expatriate journalist and the teenage daughter of the psychiatrist grow close. It's a Platonic relationship, but it's certainly got a weird and dangerous edge. The girl's uncle verbally attacks the journalist, accusing him of wanting to seduce the girl (which, I've got to say, is not the most outlandish conclusion one could jump to). By way of reaction, the enraged journalist administers a savage, near-fatal beating to the uncle. The movie continues - and guess what ? The journalist and the girl still interact freely, while the uncle is nowhere to be seen. In real life, it is far more likely that the journalist might face charges and, indeed, might be locked up in prison while awaiting trial. Or else he might be sent to a mental institution specialized in violent offenders, that's a possibility too...
On the other hand the movie is not without interest. The acting is good or even very good and the viewer meets a number of interesting characters, such as a resolute, successful judge haunted by the idea that someone somewhere might discover his secret. The sadness, melancholy and introspection of the mood fit the sombre intrigue like a glove, and it all works up to one of the most devastating resolutions you're likely to see.
Finally "The Third Secret" provides an original spin on an old thriller or mystery trope. They are many, the movies in which an average citizen (a hairdresser, a sailor, a painter) becomes an amateur sleuth and begins to investigate a violent or suspicious death. Now this movie has the great good sense to point out that nosing around the lives of fellow human beings might be immoral, unwise or both at the same time, especially when dealing with people who have been dealt a poor hand by Fortune. You'll notice how the journalist hero turns into a journalist anti-hero, charging in like a bull in a china shop and inflicting emotional damage left and right...