La historia oficial (1985)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

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:

First Argentina's movie Academy Award Winner for Best Foreign Language Film in 1986.

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)

A film of shattering power

In the powerful 1985 film The Official Story, Director Luis Puenzo tells the story of a teacher's awakening to conscience at the end of Argentina's "Dirty War" of the late 70s and early 80s. As in Pinochet's Chile, the military secret police sought to consolidate their power by routinely torturing and murdering students, political activists, opponents of the regime, and even expectant mothers. Many ended up as desaparecidos, people taken by the government and not returned. The film is about one mother's search for the truth about her adopted daughter and her discovery brings harsh political reality very close to home.

In The Official Story, Alicia (Norma Aleandro) lives a comfortable middle class life. She teaches History to high school students and enjoys a family that includes her well-to-do husband Roberto (Hector Alterio) and 5-year old adopted daughter Gaby (Analia Castro). Not used to asking questions, she believes whatever she has read in history books and is confused when one of her students tells her that "history is written by assassins." She sees the demonstrations of the "Mothers of Plaza de Mayo", a group seeking information about missing family members but remains uninvolved. When her friend Ana (Chunchuna Villafane) visits after living in exile for many years, however, she learns, in an intensely emotional scene, that Ana had been imprisoned and tortured by the police trying to locate her husband, a suspected "subversive".

Ana tells Alicia that many others had "disappeared" and that babies had been taken from their mothers and given to childless friends of the junta. Alicia begins to wonder if her own child was the daughter of a political victim and questions her husband but when he is evasive, she suspects that he may be hiding a dark secret. Although fearful at the prospect of losing Gaby, Alicia is determined to find out about her daughter's past and begins to search hospital records and government archives. Ultimately, she must confront her own responsibility in a climax of shattering force that underscores the tragedy of political ideologues who would rather destroy family solidarity than risk losing power.