In search of the third “star”: cinematic and historical chronology of Argentina at the Oscars

1986 seems so close now Because? There are several reasons, although it may be a series of coincidences and dates, all, crossed by the historical evolution itself and the situation of recent years. In this 1986, where the Argentine national team was world champion, The official story won the Oscar for the best foreign film. With a dress that is now an icon, Norm Alexander went on stage to receive the statuette on March 24, 1986, just 3 months before That the Selection will get the glory in Mexico.

The official narrative, which portrays the issue of the appropriation of minors in the last military dictatorship, won this award 3 months later that the sentence was imposed on military advice, in a trial that had repercussions around the world.

This Sunday, a new film is a candidate for the prize for best foreign film. It is Argentina 1985, the film by Santiago Miter which —precisely— recounts from the inside the development of this historic trial of high military commanders. Protagonized by Ricardo Darinthis story wants to take the third statuette when four months have not passed since the football team got the third World Cup (Qatar 2022).

The theme of years of lead, the same that touched at some point The secret of his eyes (2010 statuette winner), perhaps represents sensitive storytelling that has garnered significant attention over the years and translates into current content for the film industry.

For historian Pablo Camogli, the success and interest of these films have two dimensions. “One has to do with the interest of Argentines in these films and the other with the interest of international critics and film festivals. To the Argentines because obviously the military dictatorship marked our lives in one way or another and in many ways the consequences continue to this day. He left a wound that was very difficult to heal due to the drama experienced at that time and it is therefore logical that this theme persists as a very strong interest in Argentine society,” Camogli said. Infobase.

And he enumerates: “The official history appeared at the same time as the Trial of military juntas, which, to some extent, has finished showing the whole society what happened. The film visualizes child appropriation as its theme, which adds drama to the whole context. The secret of his eyes It occurs in another context, but it is also important and concerns the repeal of impunity laws, the reopening of trials and the judicial process that resulted in the conviction of hundreds of repressors. AND Argentina 1985 This somewhat reminds us of where our democracy was born and that is why the interest in addressing this whole story, including young people who, for many, did not experience this stage.

Regarding the international interest, Camogli adds: “I think it has to do with the particularity of the Argentine case. The Argentine dictatorship and the whole process that followed was very particular, the degree of barbarism and unusual compared to what happened in other regions. The democratic exit in turn introduced brand new social actors like the Mothers and Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo or a Nobel Prize winner like Adolfo Pérez Esquivel. The struggle for Human Rights has become an emblem all over the world.

In the middle of this timeline are the protagonists. Each of them, actors, producers and directors, a treasure trove of stories and anecdotes. Many, who have experienced the events, have had this unique experience of attending (with this experience) one of the most important ceremonies in the world in the field of entertainment.

One of those memorable moments was the night the country won its first Oscar, for The Official Story. Norma Aleandro, was in charge of opening the envelope and reading the winning film. The emotional moment reached its climax when Luis Puenzo took the stage and joined her in the middle of the emotion.

The minimal stories that include the looks chosen for the red carpet, the cabals, the words spoken and also those forgotten by the nerves on stage, are part of a memories which already belongs to the international world of cinema. And as far as on-stage moments go, it all started with Aleandro and an impressively low-cut dress designed by Elsa Serrano.

“Elsa, they named me!: what am I wearing compared to what I have here?”, the actress had nervously declared months before to the designer Elsa Serrano, who had not not made a dress: she had made him a work of art which today is an icon in force in the present. Proof of this is that host and model Carolina “Pampita” Ardohain wore the same dress with embroidered lace, lined in natural-colored silk satin and with huge shoulder pads, at Martín Fierro last year.

Aleandro wore curly hair in an Afro style that he combined like a real style bomb and left a real postcard of the 80s. Elegant Pampita picked up her hair and dazzled everyone. In the words of designer Patricia Scent, a dress with a classic and very traditional cut, with a scabbard black and colored Very much in the style of Elsa Serrano and another decade. Flattering and classic (…) a very nice gesture to reuse a garment worn by a celebrity like Aleandro and as a tribute and representation of its creator”.

Juan José Campanella created on August 13, 2009 “El secreto de sus ojos”. Seven months later, on March 7, he would win the last Oscar the Hollywood Academy bestows on an Argentinian film.

“During the filming, I never thought that I could even be nominated. I never really think about it. He already surprised me a lot with ‘The Bride’s Son’. I think of the cinema, nothing more , although of course it fills you with joy because it is the most important prize in the world,” Campanella told Telam of memories of those days.

After the Oscar, 32 countries screened “The Secret in Their Eyes,” with subtitles ranging from Polish and German to Korean and Greek. There was even a remake called “Secrets of an Obsession”, directed by Billy Raid and starring Julia Robert and Nicole Kidman. The director, a fan of black and gray colors (he usually uses these solos) took the stage at the Kodak Theater with actor Guillermo Francella. Both chose an elegant black jacket and tie with a white shirt.

According to Campanella, the days leading up to the gala he was doing a chapter of ‘Doctor House’ in Los Angeles and the show’s costumers made him a tuxedo for the delivery, which was based on a costume of a character from a chapter. .

And on the look side, Guillermo Francella, to embody his character, had to shave the mustache that had accompanied him for more than 20 years. Ricardo Darín, Pablo Rago and Soledad Villamill followed the awards ceremony on television as they were unable to travel to Hollywood due to work commitments.

“Do you have a cabal for Sunday’s ceremony?” Ricardo Darín asked this week. “No. Some laugh in my face and say that my cabal is to say that we will lose all the time. I don’t know if it’s a cabal, but I try not to take the triumphant train: falling is very painful,” the actor said of Argentina 1985, which could well win its third today Oscar for best foreign film.

There are many who, lately, have made an analogy with the third World Cup won in Qatar, especially in networks where memes are the order of the day. It won’t be easy, Miter’s film rivals All Quiet at the Front, the German film that depicts the gory details of World War I.

Argentina 1985 was a success in terms of recognition. It won the Audience Award at San Sebastián, the Golden Globe for Best Non-English Language Film, and the Goya Award for Best Ibero-American Film. We will have to see what happens today. Going back to the football analogy many remember, beating France wasn’t easy either.

Argentinian composer, producer and musician, Gustavo Santaolalla won two Oscars for Brokeback Mountain there Babel. As he said, after winning these awards it did not change his life. In an interview with Efe, he pointed out that after winning the statuette “there are a lot of offers and very lucrative”. It is then that everyone must “decide on their own path”.

Regarding his look, the artist chose once a tie and the other a bow (both light blue), in both cases he associated them with a very elegant black suit.

Franco-Argentinean actress Berenice Bejo She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film “The Artist”, which received 9 more nominations in 2012. Daughter of Argentinian director Miguel Bejo, Bérénice was born in Buenos Aires in 1976 and moved in France when she was only 3 years old. years. Despite the fact that much of his education was in Europe, Bérénice says she feels “half French, half Argentinian”, and says his whole family is in this country. “I go back from time to time, my parents are Argentinian, I have a very Argentinian upbringing”.

Armando Bó Jr. is an Argentine screenwriter and director. In 2015, he won the Oscar for best original screenplay for the film Birdman, which won the Golden Globe Award in the same category 2 for the film Birdman, alongside director Alejandro González Iñárritu, his cousin Nicolás Giacobone and Alexander Dinelaris, Jr.

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