Naturally I'll be attracted to films that set lawyers as the heroes. Despite the plethora of lawyer TV shows, often the process of court hearings remain mysterious to the general public and the process specifically of prosecuting war crimes even more so. For a film to be able to help lay out this painstaking and fraught process is a success in and of itself.
Argentina 1985 follows the real life prosecutors who brought to life the war crimes committed by Argentinian fascists during the late 70s and early 80s. This film's focus isn't necessarily the lives affected by the totalitarian regime or even the lives involved in the trial. It is the importance of such legal work, bringing to light crimes against humanity, making the case that war crimes, even those committed by people you support politically, are anathema to civilization itself. Much of the world lives in fear, and much of the world justifies horrific actions by those who advance their interests. But the role of the lawyers in actions like this is to win over a culture to justice.
Sometimes Argentina 1985 loses some of the human drama in its focus on the importance of its subject. The film is a bit long and doesn't always maintain its narrative power. But it is gripping in the case it makes for the triumph of law over dictatorship and as it ramps up to its final act, it has a triumphant power up there with A Few Good Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, or other courtroom classics.
Argentina 1985
Starring: Ricardo Darin, Peter Lanzani
Director: Santiago Mitre
Writers: Mariano Llinás, Santiago Mitre
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