After having won the World Cup in Qatar, the pre-nomination of “Argentina, 1985” to the Oscar awards awakens the idea that joy can be repeated, this time, in the field of the seventh art. The producer of the film Axel Kuschevatzky, confirmed that the film, which portrays the days of the Military Junta Trial after the return of democracy, entered the list of fifteen films nominated for an Oscar for Best International Film. Although it is true that the final selection to compete for the statuette has not yet been confirmed, the news was enough for the Argentine public to become enthusiastic about the idea of the possibility of winning the Oscar. In the history of national cinematography there are already two examples: “The Official Story” (1985)and the most recent, “The Secret in His Eyes” (2009)who also had Ricardo Darin as protagonist. There is another constant: both films tell dark moments in the country’s history. Will these coincidences be enough to repeat the miracle?
Though ArgentinaWith Mexicohas the award of being the only country in Latin America to have won the golden statuette, has had several nominations such as Best International Film and he has only managed to win twice. The first was in 1974 with “Truce”, from Sergio Renanbased on the homonymous novel by the Uruguayan writer Mario Benedetti.
That nomination was followed by “Camila”, (1984) from Maria Luisa Bembergjust ten years later. Based on the tragic love story between Camila O Gorman Y ladislao gutierrez in times of the harsh government of Juan Manuel de Rosasthe film remained as an icon of vintage cinema and of the return of democracy in Argentina, it failed to win the statuette, as it would “The official story” a year later.
Thirteen years had to wait for Argentina to compete again in the category, and that nomination was not without controversy. “Tangos”, (1998) the film of the renowned director Carlos Saura. The film was a succession of pictures of the popular Argentine dance united by a story as the common thread. But his nomination sparked a debate: while most of the production was Argentine, Saura was Spanish. Even so, the film managed to compete in the shortlist, but did not obtain the much-desired statuette.
Three years later, and before his consecration with “The Secret in Their Eyes”; director Juan Jose Campanella managed to compete with another of his well-remembered films: “The son of the bride”who had coincided with the previous winners in a not minor fact: the actors Norma Alexander Y Hector Alterio They had already starred in “La historia oficial” and, although he did not know it yet, Ricardo Darín would head the cast of “El secreto de sus ojos” later, and also of “Argentina 1985”. The film did not win, but it became an endearing film.
The last nomination for an Argentine film that did not win an Oscar was in 2014, with the success “Wild Tales”the movie of Damian Szifron that broke a historical public attendance record: more than 3.4 million viewers attended the theaters to observe a succession of stories that showed characters on the verge of exploding in their contained violence. On this occasion, the cast also included Ricardo Darín, who played a character that even transcended the film itself: “Bombita”, a man who, fed up with bureaucratic groping one day, decides to do something unexpected.
After seven nominations in forty years, it is true that it will not be easy to achieve the miracle again. However, “Argentina 1985” is a film that has generated great social commotion in its portrayal of one of the most important episodes in the recent history of the country, achieving that more than a million viewers saw it in movie theaters and other so many through the Amazon streaming platform, being the most watched Argentine film of the year. In addition to Darín, it has the performances of actors such as Norman Briski, Alejandra Fletcher and Peter Lanzani, and has already been nominated to represent the country in the Goya Awards and in the Golden Globes.
This could be a new opportunity for Argentine cinema to launch itself on the highest award in the industry. And although it is true that he only won twice, it is no less true that, as a song that does not stop playing says, perhaps you can “win the third”.
