THE OFFICIAL STORY (1985)

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