FILM 4: Argentina, 1985 (Sebastián Mitre, 2022). Amazon Prime

F4. Argentina, 1985. Santiago Mitre, 2022.

Plot:
“The true story of how a public prosector, Julio Strassera, a young lawyer, Luis Moreno Ocampo, and their inexperienced legal team dared to prosecute the heads of Argentina’s bloody military dictatorship in a battle against odds and a race against time, braving bomb and death threats.”

Cast:
Ricardo Darín            Julio César Strassera
Peter Lanzana            Luis Moreno Ocampo
Santiago Armas Estevarena    Javier
Alejandra Flechner        Silvia

Questions:
1.    This film addresses the first time that a country’s military commanders had been tried in a civilian court. How does the director integrate portions of the actual “Trials of the Junta” of 1985 directly into the film?
2.    How do the cinematography, set design and wardrobe work together to recreate Buenos Aires society in the mid 1980s? How would you describe the ‘look’ of the film?
3.    How did the prosecutors recruit the members of their legal team for the trials?
4.    What are some aspects of the witnesses’ testimony that shocked the Argentine public into agreeing that members of the junta belonged in prison (for instance, the testimony by the woman who gave birth in captivity)?
5.    How did Strassera and his team respond to threats against their lives?
6.    How does the film dialogue use humor to lighten the somber atmosphere of the proceedings? (It will be interesting to compare this to the tone of “No,” Pablo Larraín’s film about the Chilean plebiscite that ended that country’s dictatorship.)