Argentina, 1985 

Written and directed by Santiago Mitre

Released Oct. 21, 2022 (US)

Currently streaming on Amazon Prime

I had seen all the Best Picture-nominated films for the Oscar, except for Women Talking and Top Gun. K had seen Top Gun, and, for whatever reason, we couldn’t access Women Talking. So, we opted for Argentina, 1985, which was nominated as Best International Feature Film.

Argentina, 1985 is about a true event. The story of how a public prosecutor, a young lawyer, and their inexperienced legal team dared to prosecute the heads of Argentina’s blood military dictatorship.

What I Liked About It 

Everything.

It was better than the all the other nominated films I’d watched. It was also a big, straightforward dramatization of a big, important historical event. (In that sense, it reminded me of Spotlight, the movie about the Catholic Church’s attempts to muzzle the investigations into its years of sexual abuse of children.)

The script was well-structured. It couldn’t have been easy to include all the political and personal material that was touched on And yet, it worked, almost flawlessly.

I especially liked:

* The directing. There was nothing clever about it. It was invisible. And for a movie like this – that has so much to offer the viewer in terms of story and context – a light directorial touch is always the best.

* The acting. Uniformly excellent.

* The editing: Like the directing, the editing was not clever. But it was very good. It kept the plot moving at a heart-pounding pace, with the occasional respite for contemplated emotion.

What I Didn’t Like 

Nothing.

Critical Reception 

“For a film about the crimes of a fascist military dictatorship that employed mass torture, rape, kidnapping, and murder as weapons of social control, Santiago Mitre’s Argentina, 1985 sure goes down smooth.” (Keith Watson, Slant)

* “There’s a fair amount of Hollywoodised emotion in this true-life courtroom drama, but it is managed with terrific flair and heartfelt commitment.” (Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian)

* “A strong lead performance grounds an understated drama about a historic trial.” (Sheri Linden, Hollywood Reporter)

You can watch the trailer here.