Cautiva

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 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.

Another story about the disappeared Argentinians, during the military regime in 70s Executed, others forced to leave their country,and many children left behind,to be adopted by couples close to the regime... A close look to real lives and tragedies

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.

In English, when we say, "He was DISAPPEARED", we are using a term that came into English from Spanish. Over the past decades, countless thousands have suffered this fate in many South and Central American countries.

CAUTIVA offers us a genuinely fresh take on this truly somber subject. We see the problem from the perspective of a teenage girl, Cristina Quadri, who one day, without the slightest warning, is yanked out of her class at school and taken to the office of a federal judge. He then proceeds to unravel her world by informing her that her real name is Sofia Lombardi and that her parents were "disappeared" by the dictatorship in power at the time of her birth in 1978.

Furthermore, the people who she has called Mom & Dad her whole life, are, in reality, her abductors! At first, she is completely incredulous. In a most demanding role, Barbara Lombardo delivers an extremely intense and nuanced performance that is nothing short of awesome. To watch her...as she very gradually, step by step, comes to terms with the stark and utter tragedy of her reality, is something very few actors could have done so convincingly!

Cautiva leaves us contemplating just how profoundly life altering the truth can be. The film, of course, is in Spanish, and as to the quality or the accuracy of the subtitles, I'm sorry, but I didn't read them, so I can't give an opinion in relation to that importabt factor.

ENJOY! / DISFRUTELA! 9*********