![]() But when it is set in motion, he is joined by the newly appointed deputy prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo (Peter Lanzani), who brings an important perspective. While officially deposed, the former dictators still wield plenty of influence, both over institutions and the populace, and Strassera himself begins the film convinced the trial will never be allowed to take place. Strassera, as the country's sole prosecutor, will have to lead the effort to put some of the country's most powerful men behind bars. After years under a brutal military dictatorship, Argentina once again has a democratic government, and the new regime is set to try the leaders of the old one for crimes against humanity. In the opening moments of the movie from director Santiago Mitre, Julio César Strassera (the esteemed Ricardo Darín) is on the precipice of a uniquely important opportunity. ![]() Argentina, 1985 is an alloy of these two opposing sensibilities, and this juxtaposition is what turns a crucial bit of history into a film as admirable as it is resonant. In the other, seeking justice is a Sisyphean task, ultimately rendered farce by the systems designed to protect the status quo. In one, justice is revered and virtually assured, as baked into the storytelling as an underdog victory is in the sports movie. It also, however, bears traces of political satire - the bitingly cynical variety, à la 1969's Z, in which it always feels like goodness and competence are doomed to be snuffed out by corruption and ineptitude. It is a particularly well-executed version of that formula, earning its moments of swelling emotion, but that formula's guiding hand can nonetheless be felt. It is a based-on-a-true-story legal drama that largely follows the narrative beats of that genre, long one of Hollywood's most stirring. Argentina, 1985 is a deceptively clever bit of filmmaking that, as long as people are willing to traverse that one-inch barrier of subtitles, should be as embraced by casual moviegoers as seasoned cinephiles.
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