December 9, 2022 – In 1985, prosecutor Julio César Strassera (played, in this historical drama, by Ricardo Darín of “The Secret in their Eyes”) is given a monumental task. He doesn't want the job, and neither does anyone else. His job is to prosecute top members of the Argentine military, that had ruled the country from 1976 to 1983, for crimes against humanity.

The military leaders he is prosecuting still have considerable power and influence in Argentina, meaning Strassera and his family will be under threat. Strassera is surprised by the assignment because he never thought it would come to this. No military junta had ever been prosecuted in a civilian court before.

Fortunately, he is aided by a competent assistant prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo (played by Peter Lanzani of “Maradona: Blessed Dream”). Since most of the best available lawyers are pro-fascist, they decide to rely on young, idealistic lawyers and law students to help prepare the case, which will require a lot of leg work in a very short period of time. Many witnesses are afraid to testify, fearing death or punishment from fascist sympathizers.

All the time the case is being prepared Strassera is being threatened. There are numerous bomb threats and bomb attacks. The evidence against the junta is compelling, however including the kidnapping, torture, beatings, rapes and murder of an estimated 8,000 to 9,000 people during a “Dirty War” against political dissidents. Many of these victims disappeared and were never found.

Since it is nearly impossible to link specific crimes to specific individual members of the junta (there were nine defendants) the prosecutors decided to show the court how widespread these crimes were, and how they were linked to the various branches of the military junta.

The court proceedings begin and the prosecution brings 833 witnesses to the trial, which is broadcast to the nation. The witnesses are everyone from ordinary people caught up in the violence to expert crime scene witnesses. One woman testified that she gave birth while she was kidnapped. She said she was not allowed to hold her newborn until she cleaned the floor, nude, in front of her mocking kidnappers.

Others testified about the loss of family members, taken away, never to be seen again. Even some of the pro-fascists are affected by the heartbreaking testimony, and the mood of the nation begins to turn against the defendants. The defendants had been viewed earlier as saviors of the nation against the forces of chaos.

After Strassera is called to a meeting with President Raúl Alfonsín, and conferring with Strassera's wife, Silvia (Alejandra Flechner) and others, Strassera is convinced his indictment speech (like a closing argument) is of crucial importance, so he works on it with his team, friends and family, polishing and repolishing the speech.

The speech is delivered in the film, taken directly from the trial transcripts, concluding with “I wish to waive any claim to originality in closing this indictment. I wish to use a phrase that is not my own, because it already belongs to all the Argentine people. Your Honors: ¡Nunca más! (Never again!).” The courtroom erupts in cheers, despite attempts by the judges to restore order.

This is a fine courtroom drama, and it does end on a high note, despite the fact that some of the defendants are acquitted and others are later pardoned. The reality of this trial is more bittersweet and nuanced than the film seems to be. In an interview with MSN, the director, Santiago Mitre says of his portrayal of the verdict, “It was very tricky because a happy ending was not possible for this film. I mean, this trial went well, and it's something that you can feel proud of, but it was not enough.”

The film ends with Strassera working late into the night on appeals of some of the verdicts of the trial. In this film, Strassera and the rest of his team are heroes, and indeed they are, but they didn't do all of this themselves. As much pressure and threat that Strassera and his team was under, the judges, and others higher up in the government were under the same kinds of threats and pressures. There are many heroes unseen in this film.

While the film does touch upon Strassera's personal history and questions about his ethics before the trial, his post-trial activities are controversial, too. The good thing about the trial is that those who committed crimes against humanity during the rule of the junta are still being prosecuted to this day, and Argentina is still a democracy, thanks in part to the trial against the leaders of the junta.

From my description of this movie, it sounds pretty serious, and it is a heavy drama, but there is humor in it too. The dynamics of Strassera's family life at home and his dealings with his colleagues and superiors provide some opportunities for humor that lighten parts of the film.

The acting is superb by the whole cast, and the story, written by Mitre, Mariano Llinás and Martín Mauregui doesn't get bogged down as a pure courtroom drama, or as a police procedural, either. The story hits a variety of elements without overextending any of them, and it moves along nicely. This film rates an A.

Intertitles after the film indicate how unusual this trial was. To this day, no other Latin American country has prosecuted its own military junta leaders in this way. This was the first trial of its kind since the Nuremberg military trials of 1945-46. It is unusual for any country, including the United States, to hold its own leaders accountable for any crimes, and this movie shows some of the reasons why that is so. This is Argentina's official entry in the international film category for the 95th Academy Awards..

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