Watch The Official Story

The Official Story is an Argentinian drama that was released in 1985. The film was directed by Luis Puenzo and was written by Aída Bortnik in collaboration with Puenzo. It stars Norma Aleandro as Alicia and Héctor Alterio as Roberto. Other prominent characters in the film include the actress Chunchuna Villafañe, who plays Ana.

The plot revolves around a well-to-do couple from Buenos Aires and their adopted child. As the story evolves the mother begins to realize that her child may be the offspring of a desaparecido. The term refers to the victims of the dark period in Argentinian history where children were forcibly disappeared. This occurred during the Argentinian dirty war of the 1970s.

The married couple in this film are torn apart due to the effects of the dirty war that was responsible for the deaths of a large number of political dissenters. The story starts about five years after Alicia and her husband Roberto adopt their daughter Gaby.

As Alicia begins to wonder about Gaby's real parents, conflicts arise in the couple's relationship. Alicia had earlier been warned not to broach this topic due to the fact that one of the conditions of the adoption was that they forget Gaby's true origins. It is clear that Roberto is aware of Gabby's origins however, while it is difficult to believe, Alicia and many other members of their society are utterly clueless as to the extent of the injustices that occurred during the war. After the return of her longtime friend Ana, Alicia starts to conduct her own investigation into the extent of this brutality.

During the course of this research she discovers the identity of her daughter's supposed grandmother. She also begins to learn more about her husband's role in the repression that occurred during the dirty war. The film explores the fact that Gabby may never know the identity of her real family. The film won an Oscar and has been featured in a number of film festivals. It has garnered praise as a production that is committed to human rights without attempting to indoctrinate its audience.

The Official Story is a 1985 drama with a runtime of 1 hour and 52 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.7.