1 review
A personal and affecting story of the Argentine "disappeared"
I highly recommend this documentary. It has its own IMDb page under its title with an 8.1 rating. I saw it as an Independent Lens documentary re-showing. See the excellent review attached to that other page.
Mandelbaum makes us feel we know the victims personally with good use of family stories and photos. The turmoil of the seventies in Argenina's "Dirty War"--see the Wikipedia entry of the same name--is portrayed in an even handed way--but the recounting of the Dictatorship's systematic but secret capture/torture/killing of thousands of opponents of the regime is horrific, no matter how understated the narration is.
From a U.S. standpoint it is jarring to see Henry Kissinger, U.S. Secretary of State at the time, praise the Argentine military dictator as an intelligent man who is doing what he needs to for his country. Videla was later convicted for his crimes. But Kissinger is still a respected commentator on world affairs.
Mandelbaum makes us feel we know the victims personally with good use of family stories and photos. The turmoil of the seventies in Argenina's "Dirty War"--see the Wikipedia entry of the same name--is portrayed in an even handed way--but the recounting of the Dictatorship's systematic but secret capture/torture/killing of thousands of opponents of the regime is horrific, no matter how understated the narration is.
From a U.S. standpoint it is jarring to see Henry Kissinger, U.S. Secretary of State at the time, praise the Argentine military dictator as an intelligent man who is doing what he needs to for his country. Videla was later convicted for his crimes. But Kissinger is still a respected commentator on world affairs.