Argentina, 1985 is a nation dramatically returning to democracy

As if it were a documentary of the time, Argentina, 1985 brings a reconstruction of the country’s scenario in photography with an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, with which the experienced cinematographer Javier Juliá manages to print a claustrophobic sensation (not by chance) in the internal scenes. In the external ones, the natural and indirect lighting prints a realistic atmosphere.

Released in a period where several groups of fascist orientation have assumed positions of power, Santiago Mitre’s work portrays the suffocating situation of the Argentine population, recently out of a seven-year dictatorship. The return to democratic normality was still threatened by the fear of a resistant wing of the army.

A watershed moment in this dark moment of Argentine history, the trial made by a civil court has a challenging mission: to prosecute the military chiefs who ruled the country during the so-called years of terror in which people disappeared from their homes, to be tortured or killed.

The chief prosecutor, Carlos Enrique Strassera, played in the film by Ricardo Darín, was chosen to play the role of accuser. Not at all heroic, the public servant lives in a modest apartment with his wife Silvia (Alejandra Flechner, fantastic) and his children Veronica (Gina Mastronicola) and Javier (Santiago Armas Estevaren).

In forming his team, Strassera soon realizes that most of the existing lawyers fall into the categories “dead,” “fascist,” or “super fascist.” After appointing as co-counselor the young idealist Luis Moreno Ocampo (played by the great Peter Lanzani), the accuser opts for a true “Brancaleone’s army” formed by young newly graduated lawyers.

After this intro, which mixes family scenes and behind-the-scenes team formation, the film reaches its dramatic point during the trial, bringing to light the devastating reports of kidnapping, torture, and murder. One of the most impactful - made by Adriana Calvo de Laborde (Laura Paredes) - tells how she was tortured during her labor.