Imagining Argentina (2003)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Christopher Hampton

Writers:

Lawrence Thornton (novel)
Christopher Hampton (writer)

Release Date:

12 September 2003 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

An extraordinary story of love, compassion and danger.

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Journalist | Disappearance | Psychic | Argentina | Buenos Aires Argentina

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Irene Escolar	...	Eurydice
Fernando Tielve	...	Orfeo / Enrico
Hector Bordoni	...	Pedro Augustín (as Héctor Bordoni)
Antonio Banderas	...	Carlos Rueda
Emma Thompson	...	Cecilia Rueda
Maria Canals-Barrera	...	Esme Palomares (as Marí'a Canals)
Rubén Blades	...	Silvio Ayala
Leticia Dolera	...	Teresa Rueda
Anthony Diaz-Perez	...	Policeman 1 (as Anthony Díaz Pérez)
Luis Antonio Ramos	...	Policeman 2
Carlos Kaniowsky	...	Rubén Mendoza (as Carlos Kaniowski)
Stella Maris	...	Concepta Madrid
Concha Hidalgo	...	Octavio Marquez's Grandmother
Ana Gracia	...	Hannah Masson
Horacio Obón	...	Victor Madrid

MPAA:

Rated R for violence/torture and brief language.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

Spain | UK | USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18PL (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Czech Republic:15 | Finland:K-15 | Philippines:R-18 | Singapore:M18 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Company:

Multivideo

Trivia:

When it became clear that two additional scenes would help the script, a) the quarrel about whether Cecilia should publish her article and b) the flashback scene why the Cecilia and Carlos got married, there was a little competition going on between 'Christopher Hampton' and 'Emma Thompson', who both wrote their versions of those scenes. Emma Thompson's version of the flashback scene finally was agreed on.

An Argentinian view

The first thing I'd like to say is I've been reading people's comments about this movie, and I'm really touched at how much people round the world know about the worst period in Argentinian history. As regards the movie itself, I wouldn't like to disrespect anyone, but I think it is a lousy portrayal of real events. I agree with someone that the title allows for the viewer to expect a free interpretation rather than an accurate historical account. I disagree with someone about the images of torture being too many and too cruel. I think they were too soft. I've seen at least twenty Argentinian movies dealing with this topic (actually, I'd say nine out of ten Argentinian movies have at least one referent to it). The point is, no one can make a movie about "El Proceso" but an Argentinian citizen. It's nothing to be proud of, but it's our burden. I didn't have anyone missing, but I grew up with this, and it'll never be over for us. I understand the good intentions of everyone involved in this movie, and I think it's important that people in other countries let the world find out what happened here, but if you really want to know, you should see local accounts, without fake accents (subtitles are not that bad once you get used to them). Oh, and just for the record, the oppressors were ten times more somber and disgusting than what the movie shows. Most of them still feel the same way about everything they did, and as someone said, justice in this country is a lost cause. I just pray it never happens again. Thanks for reading.