March 10, 2023
By Mónica Barnkow*
More than a courtroom drama, Argentina 1985 is a movie about the young years of a democracy, about a country waking up from one of the darkest periods in its history. It’s a movie about youth and hope; about memory, justice, and freedom.
The acclaimed Argentinian film, directed by Santiago Mitre, will contend for Best International Feature Film at the 2023 Academy Awards, to be held on March 12th. It revolves around a historical event: the prosecution in 1985 of nine members of the military junta that ruled Argentina in the late seventies into the early eighties, through authoritarianism and terror. The trial is deemed the most relevant in the history of Argentina, and has raised comparisons with the Nuremberg trials.
Even though at the start of the trial, in April of 1985, a democratically elected president had governed Argentina for almost two years, vestiges of the former regime were still palpable in the social and political landscape of the country. Pro-military sentiment ran high amongst government officials, and finding a legal team to prosecute those accused of kidnapping, torturing, and “disappearing” thousands of people, proved challenging. In 1985 there were still fachos, re fachos and recontra fachos (fascist, very fascist, and ultra-fascist) occupying prominent positions in the legal field and, naturally, would oppose any attempt at taking the perpetrators of crimes against humanity to the stand. The job fell upon prosecutor Julio Strassera (Ricardo Darín) and deputy prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo (Peter Lanzani).
The film effectively sheds light into the fragility of the new democracy, by showing multiple instances in which Strassera and his family receive threats for the assignment he so bravely undertook. And it does so with a good dose of humor. Because the threats are so numerous they lose credibility, and are taking matter-of-factly by the protagonist and his wife. The hiring process of Strassera’s legal team is another comic bit that the film relies on to counteract the effect of the testimony by the survivors, which includes crude accounts of torture and sadism. For a film in which youth is one of the predominant themes, it comes as no surprise that a bunch of newcomers -with little to no legal experience -, were recruited for the herculean task of putting Videla and company in jail. Even Strassera’s school-aged son gets involved in the matter, by spying on his own account the judges as they allegedly discussed the verdict while dining at a restaurant.
Music is scarce, but charged in sentiment. Three famous songs of rock nacional punctuate the film at key moments. The director carefully chose songs with lyrics that can be thematically clustered around the themes of new beginnings, hope, and collective sentiment. “Lunes por la madrugada” (Monday Morning) and “Himnno de mi corazón” (Anthem of My Heart) by Los Abuelos de la Nada, and “Inconsciente colectivo” (Collective Unconscious) by Charly García, were the popular tunes cleverly chosen by Mitre – all of them songs that still resonate strongly in the soul of the Argentine people.
*Mónica Barnkow was born and raised in Argentina and was a child in 1985.
Photo: Argentina’s flag by Mónica Barnkow.
This is best summary and review of a film I have read in ages. I can see history playing in front of my eyes. Ms Barnkow is amazing in capturing the gist and presents it vividly in her review.