THE OFFICIAL STORY
Hear, mortals, the sacred cry:
Freedom, freedom, freedom
Hear the sounds of broken chains
See the noble equality enthroned
Already its dignified throne was unveiled
By the United Provinces of the South
And the world's free men answer,
to the great Argentine people.
To the great Argentine people
And the world's free men answer,
to the great Argentine people.
And the world's free men answer,
To the great Argentine people
Gentleman, please. Silence, please.
I'm Alicia Marnet Iba�ez. Some of you already know me.
Our subject is Argentine History.
We will be examining...
the social and political institutions since 1810.
We'll have three hours per week...
which isn't much.
And here are 3 warnings:
I don't like to waste time.
I believe in discipline.
I don't give away high grades.
Some of you remember that.
By understanding history we learn to understand the world.
No people can survive without memory.
History is the memory of the people.
That's how we shall study our subject.
Here.
I don't see you.
Here.
Here Ma'am.
Sissy!
Gentlemen, please!
Use the towel.
I can put my head under water, look.
No, don't do that!
You'll get water in your ears.
I'll make myself a foam suit. Do you bathe naked too, mommy?
Rinse off Gaby, or we'll never get finished.
Sing, so I know you haven't drowned.
All right!
In the land of I don't remember...
I take three steps and I'm lost
One step this way. I wonder if I may.
One step over there. Oh, what a big scare.
I'm sorry Ma'am.
The train broke down again.
- How's your sister? - Fine.
And it still stop suddenly.
How are you Gaby?
I'm fine. Mommy cooked my meat.
Is it tastier than when I cook it?
Ma'am, Mrs. Luisa called to remind you about...
your high school reunion.
Cross out Rodrigo. Did you?
No, because he might make friends again with Dolores.
No, he's already got a new girlfriend.
Dolores is lucky to have such a devoted friend as you.
What does "divided" mean?
It is too bad that some news media abuse their rights.
By preaching destabilization, they encourage subversive ideas.
- You're still there? - Hi.
Don't you have to dress?
The army is preparing to confront the infiltrators.
A kiss?
You did buy it?
It's beautiful! Gaby will love it.
- It seems real! Touch it! - True.
Daddy, daddy.
What are you doing here?
Off to bed.
It was quite a scare!
My wife's afraid I'll get a heart attack.
With these things you can't neglect the smallest detail.
If you neglect your details, it's your problem, Macci.
I did as I was told.
By whom?
Come on, Doctor! By you!
Iba�ez and Dante set it all up with my men.
We advise you, Macci. We're just advisors.
- We didn't expect you. - Forgive me.
- What about Elvira? - She's home being punished.
Why's my friend being punished? Or is it a military secret?
At home, she's in charge. It's liver trouble.
- Hello, Iba�ez. - Hello, General.
No, Why?
Miller, you lost your wife so early?
My maid had cousins in Malvinas.
She wasn't even told if they're dead or alive.
We lost the war a year ago!
A battle was lost, not the war.
Don't tell me they plan to continue!
I was in Spain last week with Ballesteros, a businessman...
and a lifelong socialist. Guess what he said?
"We were better off against Franco."
Now that they're the government...
they don't know whom to blame.
It's useless! I've been telling him for 25 years that...
talking business while eating is bad manners and hurts digestion.
Who's talking business?
Politics, then. That's even worse.
We woman should be guiding the conversation.
Regina, tell us about your child. Is he really so big?
Yes, he's fine.
He weighed 9 pounds at birth! Unbelieveable
It must be the racial mixture!
Miller, whom do you suspect?
Oh no!
My mother was... very tall. Therefore...
It's only a joke, man. You don't have to defend yourself.
Roberto, were you also present at your daughter's birth?
No, I'm like your husband than her. We're from another generation.
I think it's Alicia who belongs to another generation.
You're not very modern, are you?
No, I'm not very modern.
That child must be four or five now, isn't she?
She'll be five soon.
You two are really quite different, aren't you, Roberto?
Maybe that's the secret!
Yes, I imagine it must be somewhere!
It's mutual. I think she's unbearable.
And she thinks you deserve better than a barren woman.
You think Andrada never told her? She knows!
She pretended to be interested in the kid of an American.
"Roberto, were you also present at the birth?"
Oh, Alicia, you're making a fuss over nothing.
She doesn't care if we got Gaby from the stork or the gypsies.
She doesn't care! But she knows I do!
She's just like her husband.
He always seems to imply...
that anyone who disagrees with him is out!
And since she can only fire the maid, she wrings our guts.
Did you notice? She called the Yank a cuckold, Regina a bitch...
you a poor soul, the husband rude, me an idiot, all in one phrase.
She attacks everyone except the General.
She does have her limits, we must admit.
"The gaucho Moreira opens the door ready for his last fight.
The officer and his soldiers...
defend themselves against his violent onslaught.
But, repelled by his brutal charge...
they retreat until they get lost in the corridors...
right and left of the rear stage.
Sergeant Chirino, terrified hides behind the well.
Moreira, thinking he's alone, plans to escape over the fence.
Seeing him climb the fence, the sergeant uses his weapon.
Feeling the chill of the bayonet in his back, Moreira..."
Well done, Chirino!
"Moreira fires his pistol at the sergeant."
No, sir, No!
Yes! He's only a cop!
"Moreira is badly hurt!
Vincenta appears left front stage." Who plays Vincenta?
Cullen! Come on Cullen!
Cullen is a faggot! Cullen is a faggot.
"Make way, cowards!"
- You brute! - Cowards
"Seeing him, she flings herself on him, overcome by grief."
"A distant voice, announcing his death, sings these verses:
"I'm staking all my lucky...
on my lasso, because a love that is born Creole...
is not repelled by death."
Because a weather-beaten and sturdy gaucho...
Good morning.
The literature always meets with the history.
Good morning, gentlemen.
Good morning, Professor.
You know Macarena's mother can't leave kindergarten.
She says she has to stay there all day.
Today, she wanted to leave and Maqui wouldn't let her.
She grabbed her legs and cried and cried...
I'd never miss our reunion!
You're never late! How are you?
Just this year, when I have to leave early!
You look lovely! A beautiful dress! Doesn't she look great?
The latest style. You are really thin!
Me, thin? I started dieting half an hour ago.
Your hair's still long. How old-fashioned!
You'll never guess who sends you regards.
Anna!
Yesterday...
Tomorrow...
I met her at the supermarket. She looks like our... grandmother.
Her skin's very fair and such thin skin wrinkles early.
Being fair and thin-skinned isn't the problem. She's been through a lot.
Her son was sent to the Malvinas war.
Her last remaining son.
- Where are the others? - The eldest married and left.
All her children became subversives.
It's how she raised them.
How do we know they were subversives?
If they were seized, surely there was a reason!
- What are you talking about? - Let's change the subject.
Anna, how's your son? He must be all grown up.
He was 17 in February.
My God, Anna, you're old!
Clara and I were pregnant at the same time.
They called us the "captive globes".
Doesn't Clara ever come?
She went to Caracas 5 year s ago. Wasn't that when you left?
- I left 7 years ago. - 7? Really?
In 1976, shortly after the military coup.
I am single.
Single, never.
No, it's impossible. Nobody tolerate.
You're back for good?
I don't know yet.
We can't all choose between the tough caviar of exile and home.
Don't expect us to pity you.
I thought about you, all these years.
- Really? - I swear.
You were like an obsession.
And when I saw you, it all came back to me.
Because you look the same. Exactly the same.
Many years have passed.
Many things have happened and you look the same.
The same as the one who brown- nosed the monitor and...
who gave me 2 silver saltcellars when all I owned was a mattress.
So that now, Dora...
contemptible schoolmate...
unforgettable bitch...
Why don't you go fuck yourself?
Why do you live in such a far away country? Do you have kids?
One, but he's big. He no longer likes stories.
My daughter's hair is ugly, like a broom.
Will it grow if I cut it?
Time for bed, Gaby.
Just a little longer. One more story.
The one about the invisible paint.
The paint makes things invisible.
For instance, we paint your bed and it vanishes.
Then mommy will think you're sleeping in mid-air.
Mommy, is she like Dolores? Is she your "divided friend"?
The school building was awful! Clara called it "the jail".
- Like where you're teaching now, right? - No, Roberto. Please, no.
It was built around the same time. Bars on the windows.
That's true. I hadn't realized it.
Gaby is wonderful.
She says I'm the "divided" friend.
She can't pronounce devoted.
She loves the word and uses it constantly.
Will you be staying?
I don't know yet.
You're looking good.
I never saw you in a skirt before.
Europe was good for you, wasn't it?
It seems to have polished up your edges.
Here I am in Caracas...
18 pounds over the limit allowed to romantic victims.
And with 3 teenagers daughters who realize that...
between them and freedom looms their mother, the idiot...
starving myself and running 3 miles a day...
around my single bed!
Aware of being an agile fattie without a man in sight.
Forty years old! How did it happen?
How did I get here without realizing?
The fattie!
Well, we're all right!
At the fatties we used to drink eggnog.
I got sick. Did I tell you? No, I didn't.
The day I turned 40, Roberto took me to a fancy restaurant.
Very expensive. And I...
I got intoxicated!
I spent 3 days in bed!
3 days in bed! The doctor came. I'd never been so ill.
You're okay with Roberto?
Then everything's fine. It's nice to come back to that.
Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?
You never wrote.
I had no time to organize going-away parties.
Why were you in a hurry?
Should we get drunk on eggnog?
Why won't you tell me?
Did you know my apartment on Laprida Street?
No. Not that one.
There was a Gardel poster on the door.
They ripped it to shreds.
They stormed in, threw a sweater over my head...
and destroyed everything.
They took me in a car with their feet on me.
I was hit with a rifle butt.
I awoke naked on a table. They began torturing me.
At some point someone examined me with a stethoscope.
He told them to stop.
I'm not sure if it was that day.
I lost almost all sense of time.
I felt something inside me was broken.
I don't know if it can be fixed.
I still wake up feeling I'm being drowned.
I hang there and they shove my head into a pail of water.
After 7 years I'm still drowning.
When I got out of there...
They said I'd been there for 36 days.
I had lost 27 pounds and I'd undergone all their treatment.
At first...
I was spared being raped.
You know why?
Because one guy, the only one whose face I saw...
he smiled and said...
"I'm going to keep you for myself."
Then, I always heard his voice when he came by...
to ask if they'd kept me for him.
I'm still terrified I'll hear his voice on the street, in the subway.
But why? Why did they do that to you?
Why?
At first they asked about Pedro.
I told them the truth. I hadn't seen him in 2 years.
And they asked again.
And I told them again, "Not in 2 years".
And again they asked.
Again I told them, and I got electric prodding and drowning.
What had Pedro done?
Pedro was very involved.
Maybe he was already dead when they questioned me.
Did you report it?
What a good idea! It hadn't occurred to me!
To whom would I have reported it?
If you hadn't done anything.
What do you mean ''to whom"?
That place was so full.
Often I didn't know if the cries were mine or someone else's.
There were pregnant women who lost their babies there.
And others were taken away, but they returned alone.
Their babies went to families who buy them without asking questions.
Why tell me that?
I never told anyone.
I wrote about it once for a commission.
How unbelieveable!
I feel guilty.
Ok, ok...
Gaby.
You scared me!
To bed. Let's go.
Many of Moreno's writings exemplify his republican spirit.
For instance, his decree for suppressing honors, which he...
issued after December fifth when a seemingly drunk officer...
whose name I don't remember.
Never mind. Continue.
This officer... The text book only says that he...
"excessively praised Saavedra."
I think he called him "Emperor" or something.
Anyhow, he gave him titles that weren't democratic.
What does it say about honors?
They were suspended.
Of course. Do you remember Moreno's words?
- Does anyone remember? - I do, Ma'am.
He said the only distinctions among Junt a members are...
those based on where they happen to sit.
He also says, in that document, "no inhabitant of Buenos Aires...
drunk or asleep, may speak against his country's liberties."
Very good, Duran.
Does anyone remember other writings by Moreno...
illustrating his republican feelings?
I do!
Well... I do.
There was an article by him about freedom of the press.
- Your name? - Fercovich.
Why don't you stand up and tell us about it?
Oh, I don't really know.
I don't know anything by heart.
My old man says if I studied things by heart...
I'd never learn anything.
Tell us in your own words.
It's something like this: If publishing the truth is forbidden...
lies and poverty will triumph...
and ignorance. They didn't kill him for nothing.
Whom?
Moreno. They didn't chuck him in the water for nothing.
It wasn't for nothing.
They used to throw people overboard if they died on the high seas.
They had no way to preserve corpses on long sea voyages.
But Moreno was poisoned.
It's a theory...
Some people believe it. But there's no proof.
There's no proof because history's written by assassins!
I'm Horacio Costa.
Mr. Costa, please step outside.
This is a history class, not a debate.
Whoever wishes to talk, raises their hand for permission.
Without discipline there's no teaching and no learning.
Are you a phony magician or a real one?
A real magician.
Can't you see? He's a real magician.
- Any more Cokes, Rosa? - The fridge is bursting!
And so am I!
If your mother-in-law doesn't leave the kitchen, I'll quit!
You'll quit?
Who's going to swallow your cooking?
Alicia, are there more Cokes?
I bet my wise-guy brother won't show up until it's over!
He's meeting with some out-of-town people.
Too bad you couldn't convince your father.
Pop is stubborn. He won't give in if Roberto doesn't.
Tell him Pop's dying to see Gaby.
Or does he meet out-of-town people on Sundays, too?
I think of Gaby's mother, I'm afraid.
- Afraid? Why? - I quit!
Say yes, Alicia, before she changes her mind.
Now, like we did with the balloon?
Yes or no?
It happens to be your daughter's birthday!
Nothing. It's fine.
Everything's fine.
My baby, are you sad? Don't cry, my baby.
Let's go to bed. You'll go to sleep. Won't you?
Sleep well. You want your mommy to stay? Fine.
Don't cry any more. Your mommy's here. See?
All right, my little one. It's all right.
My little one is sleepy.
Why is my little one sleepy?
Because the sandman is here.
Look at those toys your cousins brought you.
What happened, my love?
Did you hurt her? What'd I tell you?
We didn't do anything to her.
We didn't bother her.
Remember our talk?
She got scared. We didn't see her.
What was? She got crazy? No, father please.
Can't she play, even though she's small?
I can't believe it's been five years.
That day you came home very late. Remember? Like today.
You didn't know how to hold her.
You carried her like a doggie.
At the time...
I agreed not to go to the hospital.
Now I think I should have. I should have gone there.
- I won't. - No?
Who was that woman in the car?
- Who was she? - A nurse.
Was the doctor's name Jaifel? Jeifel?
I forgot. How should I remember?
He gave you Gaby, and you forgot his name?
We agreed we'd never talk about it.
Did you pay?
Alicia.
To mother or the doctor?
Why bring this up now?
Because you said she agreed. How do you know she agreed?
You saw her in the hospital?
Answer me, Roberto.
Don't be angry.
Maybe she didn't even know her child was being taken away.
What is it you're asking?
What the hell are you asking me?
How do I know what I'm asking? I don't know.
I always feel badly on this particular day.
Won't we ever tell her the truth?
You realize, we celebrate our day, not hers.
We celebrate the day you brought her home.
We celebrate the day we inscribed her.
That's her birthday.
"Because they were conceived without freedom...
the absurdities of our fathers, ingrained by time and custom...
will continue to be respected.
Let us for once, not follow our outdated opinions.
By not being selfish, may we know the truth."
Wait, idiot, let's see how it ends. Listen, Horacio!
"Truth, like virtue, contains its own rewards.
Discussing and revealing it, bring out its shining splendor."
Look, dummy, he writes: "If restrictions are imp...
If restrictions are imposed on speech, the soul will vegetate like matter...
Sit down!
"And the lies, the worries, the bigotry and ignorance..."
Take that away!
I won't ask who did it, because...
"and ignorance..."
So, you'll all pay for those who play such pranks.
"Provoking division among people and causing...
their continued abasement, misery and ruin."
You'll know better next time.
"Mariano Moreno, Le Gaceta, Buenos Aires, June 12, 1810."
What if you were to be late somewhere?
Why?
To have coffee with me, for instance.
I'm sorry, Benitez, I'm in a hurry. I'm due downtown.
Take me along? I'd like to talk with you.
How about that coffee?
Not now, Benitez. What do you want?
A little flirting, perhaps?
Are you crazy?
What a temper! If I had...
asked you to bed, what a row you'd make!
What?
No, it's nothing like that. Don't have any illusions.
I'm returning a report you left in the principal's office.
It's about a pupil, Costa...
who talks nonsense in class.
Why've you got it?
- The secretary's my friend. - How dare you?
What right do you have?
No right. Let's be quite clear.
I took the file because I know the score.
Because his feelings could cost that idiot more than you know.
Because you too deserve another chance.
The whole class is completely insolent.
Today they covered the blackboard with news clippings.
Frankly, I don't know what they want. Here.
They want you to be informed.
Why did Cuyo University fire you?
Because I'm dangerous.
I wasn't fired.
They visited me in my absence, and shredded every paper I had.
I got the message... all by myself.
And these lists...
with all the missing people, even babies, is that...
true?
I mean they could be like you: In new jobs.
Somewhere else. Right?
What do you care whether it's true.
Is it your problem?
It will end. It will end. This habit of killing.
It will end. It will end.
It's always easier to believe it's impossible, right?
Because if it were possible it would require complicity.
Many people can't believe it, even if they see it.
Take Costa's report, in case you want to submit it again.
FAMILIES OF THOSE MISSING FOR POLITICAL REASONS
The missing ones. Let them tell us where they are.
Let them tell us where those kidnapped babies are!
You ill-begotten military men...
what have you done with our missing ones?
The foreign debt and the corruption,
are the worst shit our nation has had!
And what about Malvinas?
Those boys who never came back!
We must not forget them.
That's why we must fight.
You ill-begotten military men...
what have you done with our missing ones?
RETURN ALL CHILDREN BORN IN CAPTIVITY
TO THE LEGITIMATE FAMILIES The grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo
In the next time, we must stay longer, Mr. Dillinger.
Sure. This is a fine city.
And perhaps your secretary will be around.
Have you anything special at night?
Not really, but maybe you could help me in thinking of something.
- Ok. I will see you in your next trip. - I hope so.
- Have a nice day, Mr. Dillinger. - Thank you, Dante.
- Dante, please. - Just a minute, Macci.
Tell Iba�ez it's ready, and there are 5 more.
I can't, now.
I think your figures are wrong.
Get that old man out, or Andrada will kill us!
Why don't you do it?
We've too much work today!
I didn't know you're here! Wait for me inside.
No. Better make an appointment for tomorrow.
- What's wrong? - I wanted to talk to you.
Remember? I'm leaving. We should go now.
I can't wait longer, and you know it!
I must see Andrada. I won't go to jail!
Why would you go to jail? What's wrong with you?
Criminals go to jail.
It's a civilized country. And you have friends.
Let's see if Andrada can see you.
What a fuss over a silly summons by a judge!
Come along to the airport?
What's wrong?
Nothing.
I'll handle it. Don't miss the plane. Call someone.
Whom?
Do we have the tickets?
Tell him that we will avenge of him.
- Mr. Ross, this is Alicia, my wife. - Oh, I'm pleased to meet you, madam.
Your husband it's a very brilliant man.
You've been married for years, haven't you?
And you still come to see him off. Congratulations!
You're a professor, aren't you?
I teach history.
It can't be easy teaching history in high school.
The kids aren't as they used to be...
What do you think of today's youth?
Is there any hope?
My nephew... he's 16 years old and doesn't believe...
that San Martin crossed the Andes.
I know it's silly, but don't leave. I'm afraid to be alone.
It's not the first time! What's wrong?
Not now. When you come back we'll talk.
Mr. Iba�ez!
I'd like to travel with you. Even to Bolivia.
When you return, let's take a trip. We haven't traveled in ages.
Take care of Gaby. How was she?
Grumbling, because you're going away.
Just like her mother!
Like her mother? Who knows what she'll be like!
There you go again! That's it, isn't it?
We'll miss the plane!
I must go!
Stop thinking about it. It's pointless. Stop thinking!
Mommy, I've a letter in my notebook. It says you should...
buy me pencils, crayons and an eraser. But no sharpener...
because in a week they'd be...
this tiny so you couldn't hold them.
Must I chase you all over?
Are you sick? Are you going to die?
Come on. You have to finish dinner.
When is Daddy coming?
In a week.
Like this?
Like this. The other hand. The whole hand.
Day after, after, after tomorrow.
Gaby, let go of my face. Go and eat.
Come on. Let's go eat.
Eat! It's late.
This meat has fat. I won't eat it.
I cut off the fat.
BIRTH CERTIFICATE
How do they get meat from the cows?
- First they kill them. - Do they shoot them?
Gaby, eat now.
I get tired of chewing so much.
DELIVERY ROOM
PAVILION "A"
Dr. Jaifer. Spelled with an "r''at the end.
He's been gone 3 years.
3 years? Do you know where he is now?
No, I wouldn't know.
They might know more at the administration office.
Are you all right?
I was Gaby's age. I sat on Grandma's rocking chair...
And couldn't understand what took them so long.
They were both killed in a car accident
Poor Grandma. She told me about a trip.
She invented letters.
For years I waited for them, sitting there...
in that rocking chair.
I thought...
that Daddy and Mommy had abandoned me.
Not until I grew up and saw their grave...
I start to forgive them.
I always believed what anyone told me.
But now I can't.
I don't know who Gaby is.
Nothing seems true.
We didn't plan to tell her she's adopted.
Sometimes she asks about her grandparents...
and about their grandparents. As far back as God.
She says that God is "bionic".
Because He can see us while we can't see him.
And it's true.
I always thought...
that her mother didn't want her.
But, now...
I never took anything from anyone before.
God entrusted her to you, Alicia. That is His will.
Why do you doubt His infinite wisdom?
Do not offend the Lord.
Do not reject what was given to you.
I don't reject her!
You've shown piety and compassion.
You've protected her from evil and the dangers she'd have faced.
What dangers?
You know the truth, Father! Won't you tell me?
You have not sinned...
but your covenant with the Lord has been damaged.
You can help me, Father.
He told us:
"I shall not destroy the cities for the sake of righteous men."
Said the Lord...
Father, you know how it all happened. Right?
God merciful father that it reconciled...
Tell me the truth, Father! You know it.
You have to tell me the truth!
You were with Roberto that day weren't you, Father?
I absolve you of your sins.
I don't need absolution! I need the truth!
Thank the Lord because He is good.
His mercy is eternal.
The Lord has forgiven your sins.
Go in peace.
Alicia, Rosa took her home. Gaby had a little fever.
You may dress her now.
No! I can dress myself!
Of course you can, young lady!
I thought I was talking to a little girl.
What does this say, Doctor?
"Ortolani sign." The luxation of the hip...
she was born with. You remember we spoke about it?
Bring her here when she's really ill.
You waste your money on me.
You told me it was likely that she was...
a first child, because of this ortolani sign. Right?
Yes. It could be.
And that the date of birth could be determined...
by when the umbilical cord fell off.
These facts are registered at birth.
The weight, height, all that, are also at the hospital. Right?
Cullen, son of bitch.
Cullen, the answer.
The second.
Marcelo almost smuggled me into this job. Don't bug me!
Will Roberto be returning on Saturday?
You didn't come here to discuss your husband?
Gaby is adopted.
Remember? You spoke of children that were given...
to families that asked no questions.
I couldn't have children. I'd had every treatment.
This opportunity came through Roberto's office. I asked...
no questions. Now, I don't know whom to ask.
Roberto won't tell me a thing.
But I'm getting organized.
I know the hospital where she was born.
I know the approximate date, her weight and height.
I know she had a type of his dislocation here.
You're going to help me.
Come to the hospital with me.
Remember? We always went everywhere together. Even to pee!
Please go back to the archives.
They sent me here. You send me back!
But you're the one who sent me to the archives.
They say that you must have it.
I told you we don't have the 1978 records.
Ma'am, that's for the current year.
They won't help you, dear?
It's sad to have troubles and get treated badly, too.
I'm also looking for my family.
Could we help each other?
No. It's not that.
You're looking for a baby?
Yes.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.
Be merciful on us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.
Be merciful on us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.
Give us peace.
It is not a shame to be poor...
just as it is not an honor to be rich.
It's better to be rich.
That depends on what you had to do to get there...
and what you're willing to to go on doing.
All right, but if you don't steal.
The thieves on TVaren't the only thieves, you know.
You'd rather be poor, Grandpa?
I can't help it. But I do like having a clean conscience.
How about some vermouth?
My dear sister-in-law, would you be making a pass at me?
You must get plenty of offers.
With my looks!
You realize that women...
go crazy over a starving widower who's lost his factory...
with 3 kids...
and who's forced to go back to live with his folks.
My picture's on the cover of the top magazines!
"Most Eligible Man of the Year"
Name one woman who ever refused you.
You're kidding! But I'm careful...
I don't jump into a pool without water.
Still, there was one who rejected me.
Cecilia rejected me.
I jumped in twice.
Twice she said no. But finally, she couldn't resist.
Roberto, how could you?
I scold the kids for teasing animals!
- Do you use the washing machine? - Yes, son. Thank you.
Come on, Mom.
Don't get mad.
It's that I'm grateful every time I use it.
I'm so happy that you came.
But promise me...
Why me? Why don't you ask them to promise?
I've asked them too.
Have you seen the recent news in the papers?
The announcements?
They say there are missing babies...
So, what about it?
- Has anyone said anything? - No. Nobody said anything.
- It's possible. - Possible!
Just think.
Mother! Let's eat?
Your dad and your brother are well liked in the neighborhood.
- They're highly respected. - I know.
Did you speak to Roberto?
Maybe Roberto doesn't know either.
See, it's nice enough to eat on the patio.
You were right, son. But the radio predicted bad weather.
The clouds scared me.
Your mother doesn't learn. She believes anything they say.
When my son and I were ever wrong about the weather?
By saying your "son" you mean Enrique, don't you?
It's a habit. He lives here. And, come to think of it...
When do we ever look up at the sky?
Only if it rains dollars!
Let it rain dollars!
Another helping?
I can't win! They do a great job on me.
- Roberto, your Mom's talking. - You, Mom, even Gaby.
They work me over until I lose out again!
I made it with prawns, the way you like it.
Let's see, how did it start this time? Yes, the weather!
Even Mom got involved with the weather.
Kids, go play!
Why the hell do you ask us here?
Go play in the backyard. Go on!
Dad, this time Roberto's right.
Listen, Enrique...
You can stick your defense right up your ass! You understand?
May I talk?
Go on! Watch the clouds with Daddy and calculate the winds.
- May I talk? - Yes, talk!
It was a bad joke, an ugly joke.
I'm talking!
Can't one joke about one's son?
- What a joke, Dad! - I'm talking!
As your father I raised you for something else.
Your brother's too fond of wine. And you...
And you're too fond of money.
But your brother never gets drunk.
He prefers other things to wine.
And you...
We'd probably get along better if you were a drunk.
Of course, you'd love me a lot if I were a failure.
The whole country's collapsed, all except...
the sons of bitches...
the thieves...
their cohorts, and my eldest son: They struck it rich!
And you'll die believing that. Right?
You'll never admit that you're buried in shit up to here!
You and your kind!
What's going on? Roberto, please!
You keep using machines that are 40 years old.
The world moves ahead, you know!
And it crushes those who watch the clouds!
You dare repeat such immoral things while people are starving?
Starving? Who's starving here?
Who the hell is starving? Tell me!
In this house they still choke on meaningless words,
reciting old anarchist shit!
The Spanish Civil War is over. And you lost it!
You want me to feel guilty because I'm not a loser.
No, No! I'm not a loser.
Get that into your head! I'm not a loser!
And this other war?
The war you and your bunch won.
You know who lost it, brother? The kids.
Kids like mine.
They'll be paying for the dollars that were swiped.
And they'll repay them by not eating and not studying.
Because you won't repay them. Of course! Why should you?
You're not a loser!
MURDERED IN HIS MOTHER'S WOMB
FOUND MURDERED
Let's see. Here's something.
- Between March 15 and 20. Right? - More or less.
Although the girl is younger.
- You're sure it's that hospital? - In La Plata.
And the anatomical data, size of skull, thorax...
they'd all be recorded in a hospital's archives?
Well, no. But we don't have such data.
Even if we had, it wouldn't help.
We've nothing to compare them with.
Or have you something to compare with?
No.
Oh, what a lovely blouse! Have a look: Five hearts.
- What's your name? - Gaby!
- Gelby? - Gaby!
Patience, gentlemen. It won't be long now.
- A drink, Dante? - No thanks.
I need a steady hand to beat this guy.
May I use the phone?
Then Andrada won't be able to call here.
- Just a quick call. - Go ahead, use it!
Andrada won't call, anyway.
- He says "Gelby" instead of Gaby! - You must teach him!
Mommy will kill us if you're not in bed soon!
So what? She's not here now.
- Can I wait up for her a little while? - Just a little?
Then I'll eat all your food.
- But you already ate! - This food isn't for little girls.
Daddy, men don't cook. Women do.
- Have you had your medicine? - One more, General, and it's over!
- It seems you're winning. - Who plays to lose?
I like to see him enjoy it.
Give me a kiss.
Your mother seems to have abandoned us.
I am not moved more with those games.
Too much concerns.
Get off the phone.
There's no answer.
I think I'll have to leave.
At noon she took the boy to her mother's and hasn't returned.
Be patient, Argentine women are a special breed.
Rosa, lower the flame and keep stirring.
- How do you know? - From here I can smell the gravy setting.
That's the secret of a good cook: Smelling.
All I know how to cook is a barbecue.
In the country that's all we learned.
I can't imagine my dad making gravy.
If we only do what our dads do...
How would there be any progress?
I'd never have gotten on the Board of Directors!
I'm sorry. I didn't know you were celebrating.
Celebrating what?
There's nothing to celebrate.
I had a problem.
I'll tell you later.
I think Andrada will leave us in the lurch.
All of us, except the Yank, who's probably his partner...
What? I don't understand! What happened?
That's what I say. What happened to your hair?
"This counter-revolutionary persecution...
contrary to the ideals of May...
was aimed at exterminating the patriots...
who tried to extend throughout America...
the influence of the liberation of the Rio de la Plata...
where an arm bore a knife that struck Monteagudo's back...
and sliced Castelli's tongue to silence him.
The ensuing battle between Unitarians and Federalists..."
Mr. Costa, what did you say here about Castelli?
They cut his tongue in jail, so he wouldn't talk.
What is your reference?
What do you mean?
In what book did you read that?
You only believe what's written in books?
For events of over 150 years ago, it makes sense...
to refer to existing documentation.
Seriously, Costa. The protagonists are dead!
Moreno, Saavedra, Monteagudo, Pueyrred�n, Dorrego, Lavalle...
Rosas, Mitre, and poor Castelli, not only mute, but dead!
Therefore, unless you're in touch with spirits...
I'll ask you to supply literary references, since you're...
interested in historical research. You get a A minus.
- Hello. - Hi, how are you doing?
- I like your hair down. - Don't I look wild?
I must like wild ladies.
Your pieces are everywhere.
I played against myself and won.
- Well? - What?
Are your students still raising hell?
Yes.
If you keep dropping burning matches...
how can you avoid explosions around you?
Many explosions all around?
What's happened?
Everything seems to be falling apart.
It is! It's all falling apart.
But not everything.
We shouldn't expect too much.
Although you're always ready to swallow the bait.
Some tea.
And this isn't the end of it. You people would like it to be.
Benitez, who are "you people"?
Nothing more touching than a guilty bourgeois lady.
To quote an old dear friend of mine...
Why don't you fuck off just a little?
Julieta's mommy wants you to call her.
I won't play with her. She made fun of Macarena.
Why did she do that?
They were so stupid! They called her: "Baby! Baby!"
But Teresa and Danita and I defended her.
Hello.
We don't see each other much.
Oh, damn it!
That stupid Rosa keeps rearranging the furniture!
Aren't you drinking a lot lately?
A blind man wouldn't last two days in this house!
How nice, how nice.
Today I called at 8 o'clock...
and Rosa said you'd come in and gone out again.
What are you up to?
I'm afraid.
Afraid of what?
Will you answer a question?
Could Gaby be a missing mother's child?
Where do you get such ideas?
What a silly idiot I am! Of course!
The moment I saw her, I knew something would happen!
Anna has nothing to do with it. It's all over the newspapers!
She lived with a subversive!
I don't understand how she managed to come back...
and is allowed to go about her business freely.
Who lived with such a subversive?
- Why do you think she left? - Why?
- You knew who Pedro was? - No. I didn't know.
She said they'd been separated for 4 years and...
she'd not seen him 2 years before they took her.
Of course she'd say that!
And you knew about it?
You knew?
How come you knew?
How do I know, Alicia! Maybe you told me.
Are you angry?
No, my love, I'm not angry.
Rosa can't make pigtails, but you know how.
Because when I was little, I wore pigtails.
I don't know who snapped that one. Probably the old man.
Look at the lovely water in that stream.
You can see his foot clearly under the water.
He looks skinny, but he was strong.
She was already reading. Look.
They were 5. No more.
See the little scar on her cheek?
Yes. Unless you knew, it looked like a smudge.
The Diaz boys were playing.
They weren't used to playing with girls.
Once, when the old man wasn't looking, they threw a rock at her.
It bled a lot but she didn't cry.
And he threw the 4 Diaz boys int o the water. All 4!
He fought with them, head-on. That's how he fought.
Then he sat down next to her to keep her company.
They had never met before.
But after this...
nobody could separate them.
Nobody.
Braulio took this photo.
It was his birthday and they gave him a camera.
He took pictures of everything.
He shot the whole roll, all without any advance warning.
She still had pigtails, see?
We used to call her "heron legs"...
because her legs were so skinny.
Such innocence! Since they were behind the table...
they thought nobody could see them.
It seems incredible. They were already engaged.
She kept laughing on their wedding day.
It was probably nerves. She said her shoes pinched.
It was her first time in high heels.
She was 19.
The judge who married them spoke nicely to them.
Too bad she couldn't stop laughing.
He looks bigger than he is. It's the suit.
A factory pal lent it to him. It was tight in the shoulders.
When they left the judge's, he took it off and returned it.
Here they'd been married one year.
You could hardly tell she was pregnant.
We were all there because it was a Sunday.
We all brought something for the barbecue.
We helped unload the bricks and stuff for another wall...
because they only had one brick wall. See?
Well.
Some neighbors who saw them being taken away...
say that the fire might not have been intentional.
Since they destroyed everything and there was only one brick wall.
Nothing was left...
Nothing.
Only these four photos of them.
And our memory.
I'm not saying that she is...
But the dates coincide, more or less. Right?
And there's this photo.
You might realize that the girl you have...
could well be my granddaughter.
Don't cry.
Crying doesn't help.
I know why I'm telling you.
It doesn't help to cry.
Why are you here?
Your secretary said you're here. I need to talk with you.
I'm busy now. Some other time I'll gladly see you.
I hate talking to you but I must.
Alicia doesn't return my calls.
How about that! Good for her!
Is the ship sinking?
Do you know what's going on in Alicia's head?
I know what you're trying to put in her head.
If I could influence her, she wouldn't have married you!
Sure! You'd have found her a husband like yours!
You should all be swept away.
Like garbage!
They did that! Swept them away and buried them!
Like garbage!
You knew who Pedro was?
He was same to you! You both hated each other.
He hated me? Why should he hate me?
You're more perfect! He's never asked that question.
So, you're innocent? You had nothing to do with anything?
Maybe you denounced me, to ingratiate yourself with some friend?
I would have been glad to do it.
Who told you? Who?
Then he's disappeared...
Yes, Rolo. He disappeared. Vanished. Gone forever!
Nothing. Nothing. I'm laughing at us.
Who would denounce him, Rolo, if nothing can be proved?
Everything is fine. The girl's asleep. The maid's asleep. Relax.
Forgive me.
Stop. Why are you telling me that?
No! I have nothing to do with it!
I'm telling you. I had nothing to do with it.
Nothing.
You offered to pick her up at school.
Sure, since you couldn't. But it's 11h30 at night!
No pardon, no amnesty. We want them alive.
Now it's become imperative...
that they appear alive, and the culprits are punished.
We want our children!
They took them alive. We want them back alive.
FAMILIES OF THE MISSING AND IMPRISONED
AND HER BABY BORN IN CAPTIVITY
Let them tell us where the missing ones are.
If Gaby's your grandchild, what do we do?
It's strange... I always thought that...
I would do anything to avoid losing what I had...
that I'd be capable. Of anything as long as...
as long as everything remained as it was.
Strange, isn't it?
I didn't want to lose what I love, but I couldn't...
- Rosa, come here, please. - Hi, love.
I'd like to introduce...
- Not now. I'm busy. - Please.
Mrs. Reballo, my husband, Roberto Iba�ez.
- Hi. - How do you do?
Reballo.
I knew a Reballo at the university.
That was so long ago.
We're not from the city.
Sara could be Gaby's grandmother.
You are completely crazy!
Is this a trap? In my own house?
What's happening to you, you poor idiot?
Do you realize what you're doing? What are you? Afraid?
Do you want to get rid of the girl?
You need not to give her to the first nut you see on the street.
Get this bag lady out of here. Out of my house!
Well, I'm leaving.
Tomorrow, will you call me...
or should I call you?
I'll call you, Sara.
See you tomorrow.
I don't understand.
What's happening to you?
What do you want to do with Gaby?
- I want to know. - To know what?
Why was she given to you?
What did they do to her mother? Is she alive?
How do I know? What am I? A torturer?
- Why should we care? - We should care. It concerns us.
You're too scared to face that woman.
I want nothing to do with those people. Nothing!
Do you know who they are?
How could you know?
You don't know what's under your nose!
Of course I'm scared, you idiot!
Some very serious things have happened. Andrada's vanished.
And I'm in it up to here! The general is raving mad!
He says he's going to make them pay for it.
We might lose everything!
We might lose Gaby!
You'll lose Gaby! You!
And if it's true?
If the parents were what you said.
Would it change anything? Would it?
She's already lost a mother. You want her to lose another one?
Is that what you want?
Listen...
I know how much you love the girl.
We're raising her properly, aren't we?
- She's better off with us. - Then it's true.
Who brought that old woman here? Who?
You don't even care if it's true!
I do care! I don't want to do this to Gaby!
I brought her because I want to know if Gaby's her grandchild...
or someone else's grandchild.
Or the grandchild of someone who hasn't the strength to...
walk around the plaza with a poster.
Gaby's not here.
Where is Gaby?
Where's Gaby?
- Horrible, isn't it? - What's horrible?
Not knowing where your daughter is!
- Where's my daughter? - At your mother's house!
Where's my daughter?
I had Rosa take her to your folks, so we could talk.
Let me go, Roberto!
Let me go!
Hello.
Yes, mother.
No, I was in the other room.
Nothing. Nothing.
Tell her to say goodnight to me first.
Hello, Daddy.
Hello, my love.
Can I talk to Mommy?
- She's not... - Call her.
She's coming now.
- Will you sleep there? - With grandma and grandpa.
Fine.
But I want to sing for Mommy.
Lf...
You sing loud she'll hear you.
I know the whole song. Listen.
In the land of I don't remember...
I take three steps and I'm lost.
One step this way. I wonder if I may.
One step over there.
Oh, what a big scare.
In the land of I don't remember...
I take three steps and I'm lost.
One step backward fast.
And that'll be my last.
Because I no longer know where my other foot will go.
Daddy? Did you hear me? Did you like it?
Yes. I liked it a lot.
- Now I'm sleepy. - Here's a kiss.
Here's one for you and one for Mommy.
Should I hang up, Daddy?
Yes, my love. Hang up.
Good night, Daddy.
Good night, love of my life.
In the land of I don't remember...
I take three steps and I'm lost.
One step this way.
I wonder if I may.
One step over there.
Oh, what a big scare.