So'RRR'y, but Argentina, 1985 is by far the best international film of the year

Santiago Mitre’s Argentina, 1985 resurrects our faith in the art of storytelling. It is a supremely relevant story that had to be told. And it doesn’t mince words. At the same time, this is an enormously engaging film, although it indulges in no gimmicky editing or leaden soundtrack to get our attention. It is all so…normal! Yet the rot is so deep-rooted it needs herculean efforts to bring it out into the open. Going into the untold atrocities of Argentina’s last civil-military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983, the film cuts into the mordant moral dilemma without any hint of self-righteousness.

What I especially liked about this brilliant film is its unfussy tone: a terrible wrong has to be righted lest the travesties of history get buried in the rubble of time. The lawyer who takes it upon himself to bring the military criminals to a task is chief prosecutor Julio César Strassera, played by the brilliant Ricardo Darin who is to Spanish cinema what Robert de Niro is to America. This is Darin’s third film with Santiago Mitre. I recommend the previous two collaborations White Elephant and Truman very strongly. _Argentina, 1985_ is the best of the trilogy. Powerful and poignant, timely and timeless, as we all know authoritarian regimes will be there as long as there is governance. Mitre delves into the anatomy of a savage dictatorship without patting himself in the back. This is the era of the landline phone. The shrill phone rings in the Strassera residence with ugly threats. It is a joy to see the family including Strassera’s wife daughter and young son, coping with the situation so heroically that it doesn’t seem like heroism.

At the end after the trial of the military mafia is over Strassera ‘s wife Silvia (Alejandra Flechner) tells him proudly, “It seems the era of heroes is not over as yet.” Thank God it isn’t. It takes one fearless Straserra to bring down the tyrants. Argentina 1985 is a film that serves up the lesson of history with a complete absence of flourish and drama, and yet the on-trial declarations of some of those who testify against the military regime will freeze your blood. There is one woman who is especially heartrending. She is Adriana Calvo, played with moving credibility by Laura Paredes, who was heavily pregnant when she was kidnapped by the military regime. Her account leaves us frozen in disbelief. Can any government be so cruel and barbaric? Argentina 1985 tells us, it can, and it will. Unless we stand up against authoritarianism. This is also the story of the bond that grows between Strassera and his apprentice Luis Moreno Ocampo (Peter Lanzani) whose elitist background makes him a part of that very tyranny which he now demolishes in the courtroom. This is a film of many ironies and many wonders. It gnaws at our complacent acceptance of totalitarianism. It doesn’t warn us in so many words, ‘Yesterday it was us. Tomorrow it could be” It doesn’t need to. Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based journalist. He has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and Instagram