A.K.A.: La Historia
Oficial
Country: Argentina
Genre(s): Drama
Director: Luis
Puenzo
Cast:
Norma Aleandro / Hector Alterio / Analia Castro
Plot
A conservative history teacher comes to suspect that her adopted daughter
is actually the kidnapped child of a political prisoner. Her fears force her to confront the awful
truths about the crimes that the right-wing Argentine government has committed
against its own people.
What I Liked
I first learned of Argentina’s Dirty War in a college course, which led
to my reading “Revolutionizing Motherhood,” a book about the Mothers of the
Plaza de Mayo, the group of women who publicly took to the streets, demanding
the return of their “disappeared” children, victims of state-sponsored terrorism. The Mothers are a constant presence in the
background of “The Official Story,” a fictional account of one woman’s refusal
to face the truth and the eventual price of her silent complicity. Each time she enters the streets, she sees
the Mothers and, more importantly, sees the signs emblazoned with the faces of
men and women kidnapped, imprisoned, tortured, and murdered by the government.
Though the politics of Argentina in the early 1980s are the backdrop for
the story, the filmmakers avoid promotion of a specific political agenda in
favor of approaching the subject from a very personal angle. This is the story of one woman’s personal
quest to find out about her daughter’s origins, not one of a quest for social
justice. Instead of witnessing
rebellion, warfare, or political conflict in the streets, we are brought into
the safe and refined home of a loving, well-to-do family that seems to be
completely insulated from the dangers of the outside world. We meet a somewhat likable middle-aged couple
and their only child, a daughter, living a protected life of privilege,
enjoying the bliss of ignorance. At work
and in the streets, they are constantly confronted with questions and threats
that they choose to ignore, but their home remains quiet and serene. Of course, even this sanctuary cannot hold
out forever against the infiltration of suspicion and violence.
In hindsight, as I’m writing this, I’m beginning to wonder if the family
and their apartment were a metaphor for countries like the U.S., which knew of
and ignored the happenings in South America at the time. In some cases, the U.S. government (then
under the Reagan administration), happy to have allies against Communism,
trained the military leaders who went on to participate in widespread human
rights violations throughout South America, Argentina being only the most
famous example. So maybe the film does
have a political agenda as well.
Regardless, the film’s ultimate goal is to exemplify the power and
necessity of truth of any kind, social or personal. Every scene, from classroom, to home, to
restaurants, to city streets, has its own spin on the dangers of ignorance and
the necessity of truth. The relationship,
also, between social and personal truth is seamlessly displayed here, as the
mother’s personal quest for answers about her daughter leads to her
understanding the severity of the social situation around her.
What I Didn’t Like
That truth, and the fictional story the filmmakers have structured to
illustrate it, is the focus of everything in the film, including the
directorial style. There is little
artistic flair to be found in the film’s old style structure, a clear and
admirable choice to serve the story and not the pretentions of the filmmakers. Still, compared to most of the films I’ve
reviewed thus far for this project, the visual experience of “The Official
Story” just doesn’t feel special. A
movie that effectively communicates several thought-provoking concepts, ultimately
feels lackluster by comparison, at least for this American viewer.
Most Memorable Scene
The destructive nature of the
ignorance and lies that the couple have used to protect themselves from the
truth erupts in the film’s climax when Alicia attempts a final confrontation
with her husband about how their daughter came to stay with them. A few terrible seconds follow that leave
everyone, audience included, momentarily bewildered. As the most violent moment of the film it
obviously catches the eye, but it’s the quiet moments afterward, communicated
through the faces and gestures of the two capable actors, that provide the film’s
poignant conclusion.
My Rating: 3 out of 5