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Product Description
Political drama with a supernatural undercurrent, written and directed by Christopher Hampton (who also wrote 'The Quiet American'). Emma Thompson stars as Cecilia Rueda, a dissident journalist in 1970s Buenos Aires who becomes one of the 30,000 'disappeared' after she is kidnapped by the fascist junta. Her playwright husband, Carlos (Antonio Banderas), has developed a psychic ability to 'see' what has happened to the abductees, glimpsing horrifying images of torture, rape and death at the hands of the military - but he becomes desperate and frustrated when he finds himself unable to use these powers to find his wife.
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SYNOPSIS: Accomplished British screenwriter Christopher Hampton directs the political drama Imagining Argentina, based on the novel by Lawrence Thornton. Set during the unsettling disappearances in Buenos Aires during the dictatorship of the 1970s, the film involves theater director Carlos Rueda (Antonio Banderas) and his wife Cecilia (Emma Thompson). Shortly after Cecilia writes an editorial commentary questioning the mysterious abductions, she is herself abducted and taken into police custody. Soon Carlos develops the supernatural ability to see into the future and he imagines his wife meeting an awful fate during an escape attempt. To make matters worse, their teenage daughter Teresa (Leticia Dolera) is also kidnapped. Imagining Argentina was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 2003 Venice Film Festival.
SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Venice Film Festival, ...Imagining Argentina
SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Venice Film Festival, ...Imagining Argentina
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Francisco
Format:DVD
The story is quite simple:
Carlos' wife is a journalist. She, we find out quite quickly, is investigating the "disappeared" and is then kidnapped by the authorities. Soon after she disappears Carlos discovers that he has the psychic ability to see what has/will happen to the disappeared loved ones of the people he interacts with. However, his wife seems to be hard to find.
The film is partly the story of Carlos' search for his wife and partly a discussion of how to act when you see injustice and you live in a dictatorship (the film is set in Argentina during the military dictatorship of 1976-83). I got the impression that the pyschic bit of the plot was a device to show how not knowing what has happened (whether the news would be good or bad) is worse than knowing.
The film does show brutal acts of torture and rape so it's not light viewing.
In short it is a drama, and discussion, of life in a dictatorship. It can seem a little slow in places.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Squiggle1
Format:VHS Tape
"Imagining Argentina" doesn't purport to be an accurate "history", but is a very representative, if brutal, description of what went on in many Latin American countries in the 1970's and 80's - and indeed, of what is currently going on in other places. I do think that it successfully captures the almost random nature of some of the violence meted out by unrestrained dictatorships. The device of clairvoyance around which the plot revolves needs a certain suspension of belief, but overall, the film works well. It is a warning to us all to be vigilant in our defence of constitutional rights. Interesting figures are given at the end for the numbers of disappeared in various countries, including Iraq. They'd be much worse now. After you've seen this, get hold of a copy of the subtitled "The Official Story" - rather more underplayed but equally disturbing.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Matt
Format:DVD
I thought 'Imagining Argentina' was a really interesting and good film. The plot as described depicts the disappearances of thousands of people in Argentina, many of whom had or were perceived to have criticised the reigme; others who were taken for little or no reason, and subjected to terrible violence of death.
The story is very original, with Banderas' character seeing images of those who have been taken which prove to be remarkably acurate. I think this is actually just a mechanism for exploring the stories of some of those taken. It works quite well I felt, because you can empathise with the people taken and their families; it also depicts the desparate need for some information and gives a powerful sense of what it must be like to just have a loved one disappear.
The cinematography was generally very impressive and the locations all seemed well chosen. The acting from the entire cast was very good and I'd really recommend it.
The story is very original, with Banderas' character seeing images of those who have been taken which prove to be remarkably acurate. I think this is actually just a mechanism for exploring the stories of some of those taken. It works quite well I felt, because you can empathise with the people taken and their families; it also depicts the desparate need for some information and gives a powerful sense of what it must be like to just have a loved one disappear.
The cinematography was generally very impressive and the locations all seemed well chosen. The acting from the entire cast was very good and I'd really recommend it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dictatorship is not only for other countries, you know.
This is a very serious film on the military dictatorship in Argentina at the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Jacques COULARDEAU
3.0 out of 5 stars
imagining argentina
this film is based on the book of the same name and deals with the period in post-coup Argetina when thousands of people were seized by the security forces, tortured in secret... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Jan rocha
2.0 out of 5 stars
An imaginative stretch too far
'Imagining Argentina' enticed me on many levels - reputable actors as protagonists, a strong historical and political premise, salient themes of love, loss and revenge, and an... Read more
Published on 15 April 2011 by Ms. Sj Page
4.0 out of 5 stars
Illogical but disturbing
On many levels, this is a fine film. Briefly, it is about Carlos (Banderas), his friends and family, in Buenos Aires during the years of the Junta (1976-83). Read more
Published on 30 Aug 2010 by J. Rottweiller Swinburne
4.0 out of 5 stars
Different..in a good way.
Just a quick review to say I really enjoyed this movie. It has been a few years since watching but I thought it was well worth watching and will indeed be watching it again soon!
Published on 30 Mar 2010 by Blondie
3.0 out of 5 stars
Could have been a better film...
Antonio Banderas is a theatrical worker whose wife (Emma Thompson) disappears after writing an article about disappearing people in Buenos Aires, 1976. Read more
Published on 27 July 2006 by Chatterbox
2.0 out of 5 stars
Imagining another film
Set in Argentina it follows Antonio Banderas a local theatre producer whose wife has spoken out about the 'disappeared'. Read more
Published on 20 Jan 2005 by "bobmu0l62"
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