La historia oficial (1985)

Director:

Luis Puenzo

Writers:

Aída Bortnik (written by)
Luis Puenzo (written by)

Release Date:

8 November 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Thriller | War

Tagline:

Our Moving Story

Plot:

Alicia Marnet de Ibáñez is a high school history professor and a well-to-do housewife in Buenos Aires...

Plot Keywords:

Adopted Daughter | Military Coup | Military | Lawyer | Book

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 22 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Héctor Alterio	...	Roberto
Norma Aleandro	...	Alicia
Chunchuna Villafañe	...	Ana
Hugo Arana	...	Enrique
Guillermo Battaglia	...	Jose
Chela Ruíz	...	Sara
Patricio Contreras	...	Benitez
María Luisa Robledo	...	Nata
Aníbal Morixe	...	Miller
Jorge Petraglia	...	Macci
Analia Castro	...	Gaby
Daniel Lago	...	Dante
Augusto Larreta	...	General
Laura Palmucci	...	Rosa
Leal Rey	...	Cura

Also Known As:

The Official History
The Official Story (USA)
The Official Version

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

Argentina

Language:

Spanish | English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | New Zealand:M | Argentina:18 | Canada:R | Chile:18 | France:-12 | Italy:VM18 | Netherlands:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Argentina

Company:

Historias Cinematograficas Cinemania

Trivia:

Argentina's official selection for the 1985 Oscar Awards, Foreign Language film category.

Quotes:

Roberto: Where's Gaby, Alicia?
Alicia: Is terrible, Roberto.
Roberto: What is terrible?
Alicia: Not to know where's your daughter.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007) (TV)

Norma Aleandro in a Towering Performance

THE OFFICIAL STORY is basically the story of one woman's odyssey from complacence to political awareness. Norma Aleandro delivers a tour-de-force performance as Alicia Marnet de Ibanez, a middle-class history teacher who begins to suspect that her adopted five-year-old daughter may have been taken from political prisoners under the military junta of the late 70s-early 80s.

This is an astonishing film from the first frame to the last. I befriended an Argentine exile when I was in college, and he told me some of what had happened to his country. Lo and behold, in Luis Puenza's THE OFFICIAL STORY, the whole thing is laid bare for all the world to see...and we see it through the eyes of Alicia (Norma Aleandro), a woman who has never questioned anything about her life, yet finds herself questioning the very meaning of her life in a whopping good political and personal thriller that will keep you riveted to your seat.

One note: get the subtitled version. The dubbed version is much inferior as you do not get the full force of the incredibly powerful acting that Luis Puenza has elicited from his stunning cast.