“Argentina, 1985” nominated to the Oscars: Why its Story is so Important in Latin America

Argentina, 1985 has been nominated for an Oscar in the International Feature Film category. The movie directed by Santiago Mitre, which follows the prosecution team behind Argentina’s Trial of the Juntas, has been chosen by the Academy as one of the top 5 and stands as an important contender.

The other nominees in the category are EO (Poland), All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany), Close (Belgium), and The Quiet Girl (Ireland). This marks Argentina’s seventh nomination for the prize, which has been won twice.

Argentina, 1985 recently won the Golden Globe for best picture in a non-English language and is also on the short list for the British BAFTA awards. It will also represent the country at the Goya awards.

After its premiere at the last edition of the Venice Festival, where it won the FIPRESCI award from the international federation of film reporters, the movie has been making a world-wide tour of international festivals, such as the San Sebastian International Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award, the London BFI Film Festival and the Rio International Film Festival, among others. It also topped the box office in Argentina, with over a million viewers at the end of 2022.

Why is “Argentina 1985” so important to Latin American History?

Argentina, 1985 stars Ricardo Darín and Peter Lanzani as real-life prosecutors Julio Strassera and Luis Moreno Ocampo, who rounded up a young team of legal aids to confront the leaders of the military dictatorship that ruled the country between 1976 and 1983 for massive kidnapping, torture and homicide. This trial marked a before and after in Latin American history, as it became the first time that a civil court brought the leaders of a military dictatorship to justice.

Former general Jorge Videla and former admiral Emilio Massera were two of the leaders of the armed forces that terrorized Argentina for seven years. The trial, which happened during the delicate transition into democracy and after the country’s defeat against the UK over the Islas Malvinas, is unprecedented in the continent. Under the premise of “Nunca Más (Never Again),” Argentina was the first country to try and sentence the highest authorities of the military dictatorship for human rights violations. While newly elected president Raul Alfonsin promised to judge the dictators, neighboring countries, who were also coming back to democracy, watched but never followed. And this has been reminded with Argentina, 1985.

Dictatorships in Latin America

Chile’s dictatorship of 1973 to 1990 mirrored Argentina’s terrorism and blood-shed. Even though numerous high-ranking officers, non-commissioned officers and intelligence agents were sent to jail for their outrages, general Augusto Pinochet was never he could never be sentenced and ended up posing as senile to avoid being judged. He died under house arrest in 2006.

In Uruguay, former dictator Gregorio Alvarez was convicted of human rights violations and imprisoned in 2007 and, in 2000, the country prosecuted former foreign minister Juan Carlos Blanco Estradé and several soldiers, including Juan María Bordaberry. However, after the country regained democracy in 1985, political prisoners were released and the new president promulgated the Expiration Law that excused the highest authorities of the dictatorship from responsibility for crimes against humanity.

Hugo Banzer, Bolivia’s leader during their last military dictatorship from 1971 to 1982, was elected president in 1997, after many failed attempts, and was never prosecuted for human rights violations. In 2014, Amnesty International released a report which stated that 350 people were murdered and Bolivian former dictator Luis García Meza in 1993 was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Brazil’s dictatorship that ruled from 1964 to 1985 imitated the torture and disappearances of its neighboring countries. However, a 1979 self-amnesty law is still in force, ratified by the Federal Supreme Court, which prevents the prosecution of the perpetrators of crimes against humanity during the military dictatorship. The dictatorship was also defended on several occasions by former President Jair Bolsonaro and even glorified on March 31, 2022 by the Ministry of Defense and the three military chiefs, on the occasion of the anniversary of the 1964 coup.

Paraguay’s military dictatorship leader, Alfredo Stroessner, was prosecuted, without him

Being present in the trial for crimes against humanity but was never sentenced, dying in exile in Brazil. In criminal matters, there was a single conviction of a person responsible for human rights violations after a 30-year process.

Who is Ricardo Darin?

Ricardo Darín stars in “Argentina, 1985” and he recently became world-wide news after dedicating the movie’s Golden Globe to their country, which has just became the champion in the Qatar World Cup. However, his name is of great importance in Argentina and the globe, as he also is the main face of former Oscar International Feature Film winner “El Secreto de sus Ojos (The Secret in their Eyes).”

Ten years ago he revealed that he rejected acting in Hollywood to avoid portraying the stereotypical Latino character, and instead focused on making hit after hit in his home country, being nominated not once, not twice, not thrice, but four times to the Academy Awards doing so, including 2014 “Relatos Salvajes (Wild Tales) and “El Hijo de la Novia (Son of the Bride).” Out of the seven Argentinian movies nominated in history to the awards, he acted in four of them, every single one since 2001.

You can watch our exclusive coverage of the Golden Globes red carpet (where we spoke with Ricardo Darín) here. 

The Cast of “Argentina 1985”

The movie also stars Peter Lanzani, who began his career in teenage soap operas, but has since been able to make a name for himself, after acting in movies such as “El Ángel” and “El Clan”, and series “El Reino” and “Un Gallo para Esculapio.”

Other actors and actresses of Argentina 1985 include:

• Alejandra Flechner
• Claudio Da Passano
• Santiago Armas Estevarena
• Gina Mastronicola
• Norman Briski
• Héctor Díaz
• Carlos Portaluppi
• Laura Paredes
• Guillermo Jacubowicz
• Susana Pampín
• Alejo García Pintos