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The Official Story

Play trailer Poster for The Official Story 1985 1h 50m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 13 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
This Argentine drama focuses on Alicia (Norma Aleandro), a high school history teacher who is leading a comfortable life with her husband, Roberto (Héctor Alterio), a businessman with ties to the military, and their adopted daughter. When Alicia begins to wonder about the identity of the little girl's birth parents, she finds herself suspecting that her daughter may be the child of people abducted or killed by the government's brutal crackdown on leftist groups.

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The Official Story

Critics Reviews

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Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 10/23/2004
4/4
The Official Story is part polemic, part thriller, part tragedy. It belongs on the list with films like Z, Missing and El Norte, which examine the human aspects of political unrest. Go to Full Review
Walter Goodman New York Times 08/30/2004
From the legacy of anguish left by Argentina's military juntas, Luis Puenzo has created a glowing film. Go to Full Review
Eleanor Ringel Cater Saporta Report (Atlanta) 10/09/2023
Sometimes the most enduring political statements are made without guns and banners. Go to Full Review
Rosa Parra Latinx Lens 03/04/2021
4.5/5
Outstanding performances all around. A powerful film highlighting the ramifications of an Argentinian dictatorship. A must-watch film. Go to Full Review
Molly Haskell Vogue 02/28/2020
[A] proudly intelligent, powerfully moving drama, a "political" film that is much, much more than that. Go to Full Review
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 04/23/2019
3.5/4
Simultaneously serves as a crackling political thriller and a deeply moving family drama. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Stephen C @bob25009 Jul 4 Success in 1 hour and 50 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more William L 11/30/2021 When filmmakers set out to dramatize a period of violent unrest or tragedy, it's easy to recruit an A-lister looking to be taken seriously as an artist, create an Oscar bait script, throw in a few shock-value scenes and call it a day. The Official Story mercifully doesn't fit that mold. Instead, it is a drama that takes place in the aftermath of the most horrific aspects of the event itself, focusing on the human toll, the confrontation with its scope and impact, and the lingering after effects. The Argentinian military junta of the 1970s was like an open wound that could be dealt with in the short term but which the people in positions of power refused to address; the families of victims who were abducted or dispersed were still alive and vocal, but largely ignored. Thus Puenzo's film could take the position of being slightly more subdued without losing potency (the moments where things are left unsaid have enough power to make you wish that he script didn't let the tension break by boiling over later in the runtime). Aleandro's Alicia is not so simple as to be simply a vehicle for confronting a dark past on a national level, she instead brings up a painful decision - the righting of a now-dated moral wrong, or the reinforcement of a lie to protect the one untainted party, her illegaly adopted daughter, tying into her own personal identity crisis as a "guilty bourgeoisie". Well-acted, socially conscious, and one of the few films made in direct response to the recent downfall of an oppressive regime that tackles its subject with power and subtletly in equal measure rather than reaching for easy pickings. (3.5/5) See more 08/20/2021 Um filme magnifico sobre a Ditadura argentina, que perdurou de 1976 a 1983, entre 9.000 e 30.000 pessoas foram mortas ou desapareceram, e retrata de forma dramatizada a busca das Avós da Plaza de Mayo ou Abuelas, que segundo registros tinham 172 crianças desaparecidas, uma ficção, baseada em inúmeros casos reais, revoltante, impactante, necessário, um filme bem produzido e triste, felizmente recuperado… Excelente… See more s r @ScottR 08/11/2021 1001 movies to see before you die. An informative film based on the Argentina missing persons political tragedy. Despite its melodrama, it still resonated. Saw it on HBO. See more 08/06/2020 This is everything Roma is not, a fantastic drama. The backdrop is essential and adds to the narrative. Subtle but hits like a piledriver. This is a movie more people should know about at least in spanish speaking countries. This is timeless movie that feels like it could've been set in any LatinAmerican country in the past 70 years. Sadly very underrated. See more lucca b 07/21/2020 A well-crafted, solidly acted, gripping, gritty, haunting and emotional look at the dictatorship in Argentina during the 70s. See more Read all reviews
The Official Story

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Movie Info

Synopsis This Argentine drama focuses on Alicia (Norma Aleandro), a high school history teacher who is leading a comfortable life with her husband, Roberto (Héctor Alterio), a businessman with ties to the military, and their adopted daughter. When Alicia begins to wonder about the identity of the little girl's birth parents, she finds herself suspecting that her daughter may be the child of people abducted or killed by the government's brutal crackdown on leftist groups.
Director
Luis Puenzo
Screenwriter
Aída Bortnik
Distributor
Almi Pictures
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 8, 1985, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 10, 2016
Runtime
1h 50m
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