Prime Video's 'Argentina, 1985' and the Argentinian Custom of Saying 'Never Again'
By Alberto Cox Délano | Film | October 25, 2022
One thing you need to know about Argentinians, or at least Porteños (those from Buenos Aires), is that they are very direct and very familiar with in how they address others and in their language. A reminder that the Spanish language has a whole set of different inflections for addressing somebody in the formal (usted) or in the informal (tú, vos). This is why I’ve always found it almost … comical when you hear Argentinians having to use the culto formal register of the language, the institutional codes you see, for example, in the halls of the Justice system. Or in the speeches of authoritative (or authoritarian) political figures. At best, that language can come across as a straightjacket preventing them from speaking their truth, limited from saying it in a way they know damn well they could say much better, as Argentinians are renowned for appropriating verbosity by giving purpose to each and every word (they have, by far, the best profanity in the culture).
On the other hand, that same formal register has been weaponized by the same kind of people who ran over the Nation’s institutions with a tank. Abusing that register provided them with enough legitimacy for a certain section of the population in Argentina and common to all of Latin America — one that is willing to overlook or justify all kinds of atrocities because this or that general “speaks pretty.”
Imagine the challenge, then, that is having to use that same register to prosecute and indict the very people that made language worthless through a Judicial Power whose legitimacy has been eroded to such a point that said language is the only thing of worth it has. Actually, people in the US do know what I mean.
That’s the setup for Santiago Mitre’s Argentina, 1985, about the Trial of the Juntas — the first time in history that a Civil Court prosecuted the military leaders of a dictatorship — starring Ricardo Darín as Court of Appeals Prosecutor Julio César Strassera and Peter Lanzani as Luis Moreno Ocampo, a then fresh-faced Assistant Prosecutor, plus an expansive ensemble. Yes, this movie is a triumph, because it’s so much more than a courtroom drama.
More:
https://www.pajiba.com/film_reviews/prime-videos-argentina-1985-tackles-the-trial-of-the-juntas.php
(Saw this film this weekend, it was extremely well done, to be remembered a very long time.)
If you're using Prime Video, you can adjust the film to audio English, rather than subtitles, if you prefer.
