Countdown to The Oscars - Argentina, 1985 Review

Argentina, 1985 may be the most topical film to come out in the last year with its discussion of how violence was utilized both to seize and maintain political power reminiscent of the January 6th insurrection in the United States back in 2021 and the recent events in Brazil where followers of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed key government buildings. This historical drama film follows a team of young lawyers, led by two prosecutors, who are tasked with bringing the former military rulers of Argentina, who seized power through a coup d’etat in 1976, to justice. Their struggle to try and bring the former regime to justice is very compelling in light of recent discussions surrounding former President Donald Trump, who is responsible for inciting the January 6th Insurrection and attempting to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power in the United States, and whether or not he should face criminal repercussions for his actions. One of the most interesting aspects of this film for me was its discussion about the importance of the legal system needing to maintain popular support in order to be able to wield any real authority. This is an issue I have been interested in ever since I first heard of the famous Andrew Jackson quote, which has been called into question over its authenticity, following a supreme court decision where he remarked that they “have made [their] decision now let [them] enforce it.” thus calling into question the authority of the law. This movie deals with that question as the prosecution team work to try and ensure that the trial is seen as legitimate by the people such that any decision it renders will be enforced and not seen as illegitimate and thus ignored. While all these political and legal discussions are interesting in light of the film and the moment in time it is made the movie itself is not nearly as compelling as the larger conversation it inspires. The movie suffers from a long runtime which the filmmakers fail to properly utilize to ensure the audience understands the awesome scope of the matter at hand. Furthermore, the immense struggle the prosecutors endure to try and secure justice is not given much credibility in the film such that when threats are made against the prosecutors lives it is depicted as nothing more than an inconvenience, which may have been an attempt to make them appear resilient, but instead makes the omnipresent forces working against them feel incompetent. The mostly flippant style of the movie does not mesh well with abrupt tonal changes where the movie details the harrowing story of how a government utilized violence against its own citizenry. This movie could be compared to A Few Good Men, another film that deals with military politics and violence that found the correct balance between intense drama and interspersed comedic moments that allowed the audience a moment to breath between the heavy subject matter being discussed as opposed to making the whole film feel inconsequential as I fear Argentina, 1985 did. I believe one of the weaker elements of this film were the trial and evidence gathering sequences, especially in the first half, where much of it is shown through montage sequences which never allow the audience to fully grapple with the topics being discussed as they are glanced over in a haze of quick transitions and music. The best moment of the film come towards its end where Ricardo Darin, who plays prosecutor Julio Cesar Strassera, crafts his closing argument with the aid of his family and friends and finally unleashes it upon the former military rulers in court in a rousing speech. I did enjoy this film, for the most part, but I cannot help but feel that this was a missed opportunity to engage with relevant topics in a meaningful way. I give this film a 5/10.

Here is the trailer for the movie.