Argentina, 1985 (2022)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Argentina, 1985 (2022) – S. Mitre

Whenever I see Argentinian star Ricardo Darín (such as in Nine Queens, 2000; The Aura, 2005; The Secret in Their Eyes, 2009; or Farhadi’s Everybody Knows, 2018), I’m always impressed. This film, which won the 2023 Golden Globe for Best Non-English Language Picture, casts him as the public prosecutor, Julio Strassera, who is charged with trying the case against the military dictators (in the Trial of the Juntas) who took over Argentina (from Isabel Perón) in a 1976 coup and ruled the country until democratic elections resumed in 1983. During the Juntas’ reign, they carried out a “dirty war” of “disappearances”, torture, and murder against those suspected of opposing them (many young people).  Despite the stated policy of the new government (of President Raúl Alfonsín) to hold the Juntas accountable, Strassera doubts that the prosecution will be allowed to win or, if they do, that anything more than token punishments would be meted out by the federal judges who will provide the ruling and sentencing. The film portrays him as an underdog and this is reinforced when he can only gather a team of inexperienced young lawyers to support him. Even as they gather the horrific evidence by interviewing surviving victims and their families, the film begins hitting the notes of the feel-good drama. The courtroom scenes give voice to those who have been violated and it feels like a real win for social justice when Strassera delivers his closing arguments (“Never Again!”). The fact that only a small number of the Juntas are given life sentences is the only downbeat note here (and in fact, according to Wikipedia, they were pardoned in the 1990s – and then had their convictions reinstated a decade after that). So, what could have been a more nuanced and subtle examination of the issues at play turned into something a bit more Hollywood (albeit in Spanish) – I would have given the Golden Globe to Decision to Leave (Park Chan-Wook). Nevertheless, this sort of history lesson, about the need to stay vigilant against fascism, is always welcome.