Argentina, 1985

The movie starts pretty slow, but from the beginning on you can connect with the characters. The first half hour or so has A LOT of funny little moments, maybe even one or two to many, considering the tone and themes of the movie, but it still works somehow, especially because the actors do a very good job(Important sidenote: I watched it in the original language with subtitles).

The movie lacks a bit of structure though, and the first half feels a bit long and stretched in some parts, it doesn't really feel like we are getting somewhere anytime soon. But it picks up in the second half! What still lacks is real tension. BUT there are a lot of very powerful moments near the end, spectacularly delivered by the cast.

You should also not expect thorough explanations of argentinian history or the court case itself, the movie is about people fighting for justice and shows there struggles and emotions.

So if you want to see an emotional, yet funny, movie with some real heart, and you bring some patience with you, I can really recommend it!

You've been tasked to prosecute the fascist junta, they've been pulled into the court from their safe bunker, air force, navy and army, assortments of corrupt parties, but you'll feel like you're the hunted, not the hunter.

You'd be forgiven for thinking Ricardo Darin appears in most of the films of Argentine cinema if you only come across the features that receive international acclaim, but there's a good reason for that, and once again he delivers an impressive performance as the state prosecutor building a team and a case against those that destroyed thousands of lives during their vicious and brutal reign.

Coming in well over two hours, I wouldn't let that put you off as the tension builds and insurmountable barriers are removed, the time flies by. A fine piece of factual story telling that leaves more than a sense of satisfaction at the end.

I've been looking forward to this film for a long time, and it doesn't disappoint at all. It's the kind of movie where the performances carry all the weight. Ricardo Darin as always was superb, but also Alejandra Flechner shines as the prosecutor's wife.

While the film has the familiar structure of a trial movie, everything is executed flawlessly.

Merits aside, the whole technical section, from minute zero, is absolutely surprising, the budget is noticeable. I recommend watching it on the big screen, it is unmissable to see the audience's reaction throughout the film. It'll probably be on of the five nominees at the Oscar´s for best international film.

Argentina, 1985 is inspired by the true story of the prosecutors Julio Strassera and Luis Moreno Ocampo, who in 1985 dared to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the bloodiest phase of the Argentine military dictatorship, which fell only 2 years earlier. Without being intimidated by the regime, the expert Strassera and the young Moreno Ocampo formed a young legal team of unlikely heroes to wage an unequal battle.

Constantly threatened, together with their families, they fought against time to give justice to the victims of the military junta which in 1976 deposed Isabelita Martinez De Peron in a coup. The members of the junta were tried for crimes committed by the Armed Forces in those years, which resulted in over 30,000 disappeared in December 1985, many were sentenced to life imprisonment. The film has the advantage of effectively reconstructing, in the same places where the facts took place, the difficult investigative work and the four-month trial with 833 eyewitnesses and survivors of clandestine detention and torture centers.

Also using a surprisingly humorous tone, which makes the magistrate (played by an extraordinary Ricardo Darìn) more human, likeable his very young group of lawyers and affectionate his beautiful family reveals the private side of an honest man. The 1985 trial allowed the Argentine justice to recognize and reclaim a long denied right. It inaugurates democracy and condemns the use of violence as a possibility.

When state terrorism takes hold in society, there is always an attempt to annihilate citizens and eliminate the possibility of communication.

Argentina 1985 and a prosecutor pursues cases against powerful people who were involved in disappearances and murders during the earlier military dictatorship in Argentina.

This is a skilful and earnest political thriller which deals with real events. It took me a while to engage with this film, and I think it would probably have a lot more impact if you are either Argentinian or if you have a deeper knowledge of the events portrayed. It's all very effectively done but is perhaps a bit too long winded and talky at times, so could have done with a more punchy script and little more economic direction. As a comparison, the classic Greek political thriller 'Z' came to mind, and although it's nowhere near as good as that great film, this is a compelling stuff, and definitely it's a story that needed telling.