Murray State University Cinema International program is screening the Spanish-language film Argentina 1985 this week. Based on actual events, the 2022 film follows the story of a legal team that investigates, tries, and convicts the heads of the notorious former Argentine military dictatorship. With over 800 witnesses, it shows the bloodiest parts of the dictatorship, which lasted from 1976 until 1983, and the triumph of justice over tyranny. Daniel Hurt speaks to Murray State University Associate Professor of History Dr. Tamara Feinstein and two students, Elizabeth Castro and Danielle Duncan, ahead of the screenings.
“This is a really important story to tell because it's about a really unprecedented case of putting military dictators on trial in Latin America,” says Feinstein. “So usually, it's the lower level officers that get prosecuted." Feinstein noted that the novelty of dictators being tried caused the trials, which were broadcast worldwide, to be "must-see TV."
The Argentine dictatorship was particularly ruthless and violent, Feinstein continues. "There's a lot of violence that's unleashed in this particular dictatorship. It's referred to as a dirty war because all of this is happening behind closed doors in clandestine prisons. There's torture. Babies are being stolen from women that are being kidnapped and sold. There are death flights where they don't even kill the people. They just drugged them and threw them out over the ocean, and they drowned."
One of Professor Feinstein’s students, Elizabeth Castro, said she was impacted by the film and learned a lot about Argentine politics of that era. She cited the film and books assigned in her history course as a way to understand what happened and how people can learn not to repeat the same mistakes as in the past. “We read in the book Lexicon of Terror by Marguerite Feitlowitzand." Castro said the book covers many of the violent drugging, killing, and kidnapping mentioned by Feinstein.
Castro says she wants people to see Argentina 1985 because she wants people to see that this event was similar to the Holocaust, the mass execution of European Jews by the Nazi regime. She said there were also other terrible historical tragedies that deserved to have a spotlight shined on them so people would see the tragedy and not want to repeat it. She cites the personal testimony in Prisoner without a Name by Jacob Timmerman, a book assigned in class that impacted her as it discusses the same events as the film.
“Whenever I was reading that I was like, that sounds like the Holocaust. But it's just because the Holocaust is taught so heavily because we don't want to ever repeat that again. And then just a couple decades later, you hear about similar things.” said Castro. “And so I think whenever we talk about Argentina and what happened, we need to teach not only to not do this but why and how can we avoid this happening again.”
Another student in Feinstein’s class, Danielle Duncan, says she liked the film because while it is a drama based on actual events, it does feature authentic footage from the trial and events surrounding it. “This movie combines real-life footage and the testimonies of individuals who were affected and had their families disappear. It makes you feel like you're watching that trial live again like you're living through that.” Duncan said. “And I think it's so important to see these moments in history so it doesn't happen again.”
Duncan says the world is not always a good place, but she hopes people will come to see the film and take away the idea that there is suffering in the world and that you can work to be more conscious of it and hopefully stop future tragedies. “I hope that you take away just another piece of our world history and a little bit more understanding… And that some people have truly suffered and just to know that while you can't fix it, you can witness and learn about how they struggled, which is all we can really do.”
Castro said she wants people to be aware of other tragedies beyond the European Holocaust and hear their stories as well. “The biggest thing I want people to understand is that the Holocaust is one example, not a definition of genocide and torture and persecution,” she says.
Murray State University's Cinema International presents Argentina 1985 on Thursday, February 22, and Saturday, February 24, at 7:30 pm in Faculty Hall, room 208, on Murray State's main campus. For more information on the Cinema International program, including upcoming screenings and how to donate, visit its website.
