Argentina: The Official Story

I liked Official Story, and I agree with the critics that the film has a dark, claustrophobic feel to it. Though I liked the film, it made me feel smothered and warm; kind of like being over-blanketed and sweaty. The film is somewhat boring but it makes its point: Argentina was being governed by a corrupt regime and many suffered losses, with much of its population burying its head in the sand.It difficult to distinguish particulars about Argentine society because the film is mostly hemmed into closed indoor spaces with a lot of close-up camera shots. Nevertheless, the viewer observed a rather complacent society; a society that

did not ask a lot of questions. Not only did Argentine society seem complacent, but was also in denial—a “what I don’t know can’t hurt me” attitude. Since the regime is on the brink of falling—fear is beginning to break out. Paranoia and desperation are felt by the regime’s powerbrokers. Public demonstrations are dramatized. The education system teaches a biased history. Argentina’s youth is being indoctrinated into the regime’s principles. We learn there are dire consequences for those who ask questions or disagree with the current regime: torture, disappearances, kidnapping, and death. We learn that the offspring of subversives have been handed over and adopted out to the regime’s loyal members—thus the thrust of the story. Overall, we have society characterized by a varied mix of complacency, paranoia, desperation, and anger. 

The world view of the main character changes over time as she learns more and more about her child’s origins, her husband’s business affairs, and her country’s corruption. Where she was once comfortably ensconced in an affluent, conservative  lifestyle—herself a history teacher ironically enough—she  learns the world around her, to include her husband, is corrupt. She discovers that she teaches history that is full of holes and skewed, the adoption of her daughter was brokered from death and loss, and her husband negotiates shady financial deals on behalf of a corrupt government. Most importantly, she discovers that she is an actor, a player, within a large-scale scheme of violence, death, and vice. And she feels complicit mainly because she is complicit. I’d like to point out that there is nothing “business as usual” about being handed a baby with little or no explanation of its origins. If someone handed me a kitten, I’d have significant questions: Where is its mother? Where did you find it? Is there anything wrong with it? In other words, I’m not really sympathetic to the idea that Alicia is totally innocent. How can anyone not ask questions about a baby? But that’s the point of the film: Argentina’s complacency and denial transforming into reality.