What is the Oscar-nominated film ‘Argentina, 1985’ about?

The Argentinian film ‘Argentina, 1985′ is nominated for Best International Feature Film at this year’s Oscars, and hopes to become the country’s third winner in the category.

The country has been nominated for the award nine times, beginning in 1974 for the Sergio Renán-directed film ‘The Truce’. Their first win was in 1985 for the film ‘The Official Story’, directed by Luis Puenzo, followed by a second Oscar win for the South American country in 2009 for Juan José Campanella’s ‘The Secret in Their Eyes’.

Prosecuting a military dictatorship

Directed by Santiago Mitre, and starring Ricardo Darín, Peter Lanzani, Alejandra Flechner, and Norman Briski, ‘Argentina, 1985′ chronicles an important trial that prosecuted a number of members of what is now referred to as Argentina’s last military dictatorship. It was originally released in September 2022.

The trial, known as the Trial of Juntas, was led by prosecutors Julio César Strassera, played by Darín, and Luis Moreno Ocamp, played by Lanzani. The prosecutors worked together to try nine key members of the military dictatorship that overthrew the government of Isabel Perón in 1976.

The film focuses on the work put together by the prosecution team for the trial, which took place 15 months after the end of the dictatorship in 1983 when a failing economy and lack of military support forced then-defacto president Reynaldo Bignone to call for elections.

The trial then took place from April 22, 1985, to December 9, 1985, and prosecuted those responsible for the torture, murder, and disappearance of thousands of people during the seven-year-long dictatorship.

A story to remind younger generations of the importance of fighting for freedom

“I personally admired many aspects of what was accomplished with the trial - the way it was done, in the context in which it was done, just one year after the end of the dictatorship in Argentina, and with all the countries around Argentina still governed by military dictatorships,” Mitre said in an interview with Forbes.

“It’s also very interesting to retell the story at this time, when it seems that some of the democratic values are not being perceived or taken into account as they should and with the importance that they should.”

He continued, ”Making a film that talked about the consolidation of democracy through justice was something important to bring back into focus at this time.”

Mitre also felt that telling the story at this time was important to remind younger generations how easily democracy can slip away.

“We quickly realized people’s memory about it was quite fuzzy, especially in the younger generations, and how important our role was in helping them remember the facts in the case.”

On the Oscar nomination, Mitre said that either way, the film is a success for retelling such an important story.

“I have my feet on the ground. I think everything that’s been accomplished with this film has been huge. Should we win, I’m going to be happy because I think the film has opened the eyes of many people about issues that they didn’t remember and allows those who have been fighting for human rights and democracy to use the film to continue to raise their voice and that discourse that I think is so important in today’s world.”