Cautiva (2005)
Set in a period about ten years before its release, but dealing with issues of the Argentine dictatorship and disappearances from the late 1970s, this is a remarkably realistic and important look at one girl's astonishing involvement with the worst of it.
And if it sometimes is terribly linear in its storytelling, following this girl's realizations one after another (and her emotional burden as it grows and grows), the movie is still so convincing and sad and filled with national (Argentine) guilt it is totally riveting. Anyone interested in the horrors of Latin American dictatorships (left and right wing) and in the victims and survivors, this is a must-see.
Anyone else just interested in the plight of a single sixteen year old girl in a whirlwind of suspicions and lies and a few seemingly tender sympathizers, and see her cope and rise above and maybe, in fact, find a small amount of truth for herself, this is also really rewarding. You might find parallels in similar South American films such as "Machuca" but there is also a weird resemblance to many touching holocaust films that center on the plight of children whose identities get changed and whose histories are disrupted. Not to mention the tragedy of parents killed by cruel governments.
The filming here is really good but never something you'd notice (except one brief dream scene). What you will notice is the gravity and depth of the lead girl's performance. Barbara Lombardo was only 14 for filming (unlike a lot of movies where older girls play younger parts) and she alone makes the movie poignant and serious.
Oddly, this is officially a 2005 movie with its original Spanish title, and yet it gets listed here as "Captive" with a 2004 date. There is a lot left unsaid here, but in a way that's sufficient. It makes you want more.
