The Official Story (1985)

Overcoming the banality of evil, corruption in adoption

La Historia Official is a well-made film about awakening from passive complicity in evil, in this case, forced adoption. The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo were and are an inspiration to those who struggle to uncover and resist abuses in adoption practices, be they the enslaved Irish women of the Magdalen laundries or the many indigenous peoples who had children forcibly removed from homes to be adopted by whites. Most of adoption does not involve abduction, but to turn a blind eye to the fact that it does exist, is to be passively complicit, as was the protagonist in this film.

The scene in which the teacher realizes that tremendous evil has indeed been perpetrated, and that she may very well be the beneficiary of such evil, is staggering. Norma Aleandro is a talented enough actress that we believe her initial rejection of this revelation, and her gradual evolution from passive cohort to courageous seeker of the truth. July 19, 2008

Historia Oficial

Events portraid really happened and many of this families are still looking for their love ones. A reality we all should be remembered with great films like this one! May 22, 2008

What a great movie!

This movie depicts the reality that the people of Argentina experienced in the late 70s and early 80s. Unfortunately, many experience even today! The acting is superb. If you enjoy watching foreign films, this is a great one from South America!!! May 14, 2008

a heartbreaking and haunting look at Argentina's dark legacy.....

I first saw THE OFFICIAL STORY in one of the Spanish courses I took at the University of Washington. My teacher was from Argentina and the film definitely spoke to her in a distinctive way, since she was a product of that nation and knew, firsthand, the goings on of the government with "Los Desaparecidos" (The Disappeared Ones). It was a fleet of intellectuals, old people, young people, men and women all considered a threat to Argentinean government (or subversive), who were mysteriously disappeared by the government, tortured, raped, and, in many cases, killed for speaking their minds openly about the state of political affairs.

This beautifully made film won a well-deserved Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1985. THE OFFICIAL STORY was sensitively directed by Luis Puenzo, starring Norma Aleandro, Hector Alterio and Chuchuna Villafane. Alicia (Norma Aleandro) is a teacher at an all boys school and fails to make a real connection with people of any age, much less the students she interacts with on a daily basis. She and her husband, Roberto (Hector Alterio) have adopted a little girl and it isn't until Alicia has a chance encounter with her friend, Ana (Chunchuna Villafane) that she becomes aware of the bleak reality of the disappeared ones, and begins to wonder whether her adoptive daughter might be a descendant of one of them.

This film is raw, unrepentant and very, very well done. I think all people should see this, to get a better sense of the state of Argentina's government, the treatment of its people at the hands of a brutal dictatorship, and also to experience truly beautiful cinema. August 27, 2007

Cry for Me Argentina

Cry for me Argentina. Back in the early 80's Argentina went through hard times economically. Actually, the country before the 1930's was one of the most prosperous in the world. They exported beef and raw materials. Their economy was fueled especially with British money that built the railroads and infrostructure. The cities were modern. Then it all dried up. The Peronists took over, a populist-quasi-fascist-socialist group and they gave way to a military juanta. Corruption and violence continued for the the next 30 years.

The most famous event during the 80's, the suppression of the Left by the Military. Many of those dissappearing into prisions were students and childbearing women. They were raped, tortured and murdered, literally vanishing into thin air. Some of the babies were adopted no questions asked. So there is the setting for this heartrendering story of the aftermath of that period. It is riviting and one of the few pro-lefty films that didn't want to make me throw up. It's even handed enough because it keeps the politics under control and emphasizes the human condition. August 7, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...