“Argentina, 1985” is a painful but necessary film for Latin America. This Argentinian film, which was shown this weekend at one of the most prestigious festivals in the world -Venice-, tells the story of prosecutors Julio Strassera and Luis Moreno Ocampo, who in 1985 brought to trial the commanders of the last dictatorship in the Argentine army.
The military was accused of committing crimes against humanity during the regime of Jorge Rafael Videla; he considered – along with Alfredo Stroessner of Paraguay – one of the bloodiest dictators in South America.
The film, although a fictional drama, is inspired by these real events and shows how the two prosecutors have faced the case without being intimidated by political power and threats. “The trial of 1985 is a fundamental fact for Argentina. It inaugurates democracy and at the same time condemns violence as a possibility. We believed that cinema should portray that and we are proud to have been the first to introduce it to the world. Why hasn’t a movie like this been made before? I can’t say. Maybe it took time to tell this story,” said director Santiago Miter at the film’s presentation in Venice. Miter, in addition to directing the film, worked together with Mariano Llinás on the screenplay.
The cast of “Argentina, 1985” consists of the well-known actor Ricardo Darín (“The Secret in Their Eyes” and “Wild Tales”) and Peter Lanzani (“The Clan” and “The Angel”) as Luis Moreno Ocampo. Darin and Lanzani are joined by Norman Briski, Laura Paredes, Claudio Da Passano, Alexandra Flechner, Carlos Portaluppi and Alejo Garcia Pintos.
The 140-minute film is produced by La Unión de los Ríos, Kenya Films, Infinity Hill and Amazon Studios.
The production will be released in cinemas in Argentina on September 29 and will be available on the Prime Video platform from October 21.
SPANISH LANGUAGE PRODUCTIONS AT THE VENICE FILM FESTIVAL
“Argentina, 1985” is one of two Spanish-language films competing in the Official Section of the 79th edition of the Venice International Film Festival, which runs from August 31 to September 10. The next film is “Bardo. The false chronicle of some truths” directed by Oscar-winning Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu. This film tells the life of a journalist who returns to his country to face his family, memories and the new reality that surrounds him.
The public will have to wait until Saturday 10 September to find out which film wins the Golden Lion for best film and who are the actors and actresses who won the Volpi Cup in the Italian city.
