Cautiva

CAUTIVA is an emotionally powerful story about a teenage girl in Argentina learning that she is one of the children of the "disappeared." The actress in the lead role is a fresh and wonderful surprise. The story builds entirely from her point of view, and the greatest pleasure of it is watching her mature and come to grips with her family and her past in front of our eyes. Direction is first-rate, and the film is an experience from which no one walks away unaffected.

A dazzling directorial debut that is set in 1994 Argentina, but goes back to the early 80's when thousands of political dissidents were "disappeared". A fifteen year-old girl is plucked out of class one day at the summons of a judge, who tells her that the couple she takes to be her parents had in fact adopted her. Her biological parents were young architects who had been "disappeared" for criticizing the political regime of the time. The judge directs her to live with her biological grandmother and new family. Feeling she can no longer trust anybody, she begins, for her peace of mind, an investigation of her own. Played with an extraordinary gravity by the luminous Barbara Lombardo, the young girl meets others like herself and arrives at shocking truths, which it would be wrong to reveal here. Given the documentary aspects of the film (it addresses an ongoing unresolved situation, where thousands of young adults, born during this tumultuous period of Argentine history, continue to search for their birth parents), it goes beyond being just a political thriller. Despite being, at times, unevenly paced (this is, after all, a directorial first-attempt), it is a splendid examination of relationships and the doggedness and resilience of the human spirit.

If anyone has seen La Historia Oficial, the description makes this film sound like it could basically be a sequel with regard to the issues it deals with. In that film, set during the period immediately following Argentina's dirty war, a mother must deal with the prospect that her 5-year-old adopted daughter's biological mother might have been a prisoner who did not consent to giving away her baby. In Cautiva, the daughter is 15 and must deal with the consequences of being such a child. Fascinating idea to show of the human repercussions of corruption and military government. Does anyone know if it will be released on DVD/video in the US? Please email me at uncute1585@aol.com if you have any information, it would be much appreciated.

We take our heritage for granted. But, what is we are slapped in the face and told that the "parents" we have known for 15 years were not real, and our real parents were "disappeared" by a dictatorial regime? Of course, the film reminds us of the shame of our complicity in these regimes by showing Henry Kissinger snuggling up to the dictators.

Bárbara Lombardo (The Motorcycle Diaries) in her first feature film, captivates us as the teen faced with this harsh reality in Argentina. The pain she feels is obvious and she is torn from the only family she has ever known and learns to live with strangers, who are, in fact, her real relatives.

Television actress, Mercedes Funes, also was great as her new friend, who parents were also "disappeared." A really oustanding film by Gaston Biraben; a shameful part of Argentine and US history that cries out for justice that will never come.

A political film in the higher sense of the term, it made me put into question many beliefs I had on my country. Isn't this one of the highest functions of Art!? What I liked most is that, although it obviously "has an agenda", I don't think they fall for "defending a political thesis at all costs". Such a common mistake of Argentine cinema on the "desaparecidos"... It's not without defects, thou. A bit "black and white", stereotyped characters. Let me elaborate: the "left wingers" seem to have no defects AT ALL, they're "full of love and high principles". And the "rednecks" are unlawful liers, violent, hypocritical and even ..."ugly"! They could also take bribes to "have all vices"... I mean, yes, characters could be more nuanced, but, given the low average of reality in most other films of the genre, I think this one deserves accolades. Some humour in any way would have helped, I guess. Just a personal opinion.

Is there any worse thing than what happens here? I can't think of more than one (murder, in all its forms). I think even rape is "less bad"! Before turning this into a "moral philosophy", let me point at the scenes I liked most: 1) When Sofía and her expressive Spanish friend have this important talk about life, surrounded by soccer. Now as before, quenching everything that matters. The "paralelism" is challenger indeed! 2) Having Ives's "The unanswered question" as a musical score when... (I can't say more!) 3) Final scene (aerial take, Handel?) 4) The shower scene, between the two now women, "naked" in more than one sense 5) The brawl between the Quadris and Sofia. An one moment, Pablo starts treating Sofia as a stranger, almost an enemy. Suddenly, her "dear daughter Cristina" is dead, even before he hits her. (maybe a bit predictable I guess) 6) (you may laugh) "The nightmare". It made me realize true horror is not what Hollywood sells us, it's opening a door into the unknown (in her grandma's or aunt's house) and finding a glimpse of a life frozen in time (her dead mother's). The film luckily avoids many pitfalls. Has only one very unbelievable moment, when a nun's teen escapes from Tribunales, from the same savvy cops who reduce the also hard boiled Pablo Quadri. Tribunales' zone is very WELL FILMED, feels absolutely real to somebody like me who's hanged around there very often. Retiro, the trains, both schools... It's a very Argentine film! By the way, found it great how she "downgraded" economically from her rather posh house in the suburbs to her grandma's "dark old house" & derelict Citroen! The contrast between the nun's school, which is not luxurious but looks like when compared to the truly depressing state school!

I was surprised about the performances! Have to say I didn't expect much from this film, for a) I don't like Argentine cinema b) the subject is normally a sign of a tsunami of clichés c) didn't have much faith in Lombardero. When I saw "Hugo Arana" I feared the worst :) I had to gulp my prejudices, they both acted surprisingly subduedly, without overemphasis. I had my "lesson", they taught it to me. I would have liked to know what was being played during the film, I loved the usage of classical music throughout the film (not in just a couple of broken scenes). My kudos to the director, of whom I knew nothing, and who (thanks IMDb!) has been a "sound editor" in mainstream American cinema! Well, I hope he continues to surprise us!