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Five years after the arrival of her adopted daughter, Alicia finds herself asking some questions. Where, exactly, did the little girl come from? Was she indeed obtained through the normal adoption channels in Argentina, as her husband insists, or was she stolen from a mother who was a political prisoner? Is the real mother still alive? Is it moral for her to ignore those questions, just because she loves her adopted daughter so much?

These are the heartbreaking dilemmas of "The Official Story," a film that deals with the turmoil in Argentina through the story of a single family. Alicia is married to Roberto, a wealthy, powerful man with connections in industry and government. Her life centers around their adopted daughter. She is vaguely aware of some of the unhappy realities of recent Argentinean politics - the roundups of leftists and opponents of the government, who became "missing persons" and were presumably killed in a secret holocaust. But until Ana, an old high school friend, reenters her life, Alicia does not understand how those events might affect her.

At first Ana does not want to talk about the experiences she has been through. But then she begins to reopen her wounds. She tells Alicia that her lover was a leftist opponent of the government. After her lover disappeared, Ana was taken captive by the government and tortured for information about his whereabouts. She could tell them nothing. Eventually, she was released.

Ana's story makes Alicia uncomfortable. She tells her husband about it, but he dismisses it as rumor and invention. Alicia begins to realize that her husband may be part of the repressive establishment. One day, walking downtown, she comes across a demonstration by family members of the missing. She hears stories that some of the prisoners were pregnant, and that their children were taken away at birth. Could that be the story of her own daughter? In one of the most powerful scenes in the movie, she takes down the clothing her daughter came dressed in, and touches it gently, and we can read her mind: She is thinking that her daughter's natural mother was the person who put these clothes on the baby girl.

"The Official Story" is part polemic, part thriller, part tragedy. It belongs on the list with films like " Z ," " Missing " and " El Norte ," which examine the human aspects of political unrest. It is a movie that asks some very hard questions. Should Alicia search for the real mother of her daughter? Is her own love no less real? What would be "best" for the little girl?

Alicia meets an old woman who may, or may not, be the grandmother of the adopted daughter. The two women become close, in a strange way. Political arrogance and heartlessness may have taken a child from one family and assigned it to another, but at some deep and fundamental level, these two women understand each other. Both of them are made to face the reality of losing a daughter, and although they should be enemies, they find strength from each other. The way this particular relationship is developed is one of the wonders of this film, and provides its emotional center, as love and honor try to find a way to exist in the face of official cruelty.

Alicia is played in the movie by Norma Aleandro , whose performance won the best actress award at this year's Cannes Film Festival. It is a performance that will be hard to forget, particularly since so much of it is internal. Some of the key moments in the film come as we watch Aleandro and realize what must be taking place inside her mind, and inside her conscience. Most political films play outside the countries that they are about; "The Official Story" is now actually playing in Argentina, where it must be almost unbearably painful for some of the members of its audiences. It was almost as painful for me.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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The Official Story movie poster

The Official Story (1985)

112 minutes

Chela Ruiz as Sara

Hector Alterio as Roberto

Chunchuna Villafane as Ana

Norma Aleandro as Alicia

Hugo Arana as Enrique

Screenplay by

  • Aida Bortnik
  • Juan Carlos Macias
  • Atilio Stampone

Directed by

  • Luis Puenzo

Photographed by

  • Felix Monti

Produced by

  • Marcelo Pineyro

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The Official Story Reviews

official story movie reviews

Sometimes the most enduring political statements are made without guns and banners.

Full Review | Oct 9, 2023

official story movie reviews

Outstanding performances all around. A powerful film highlighting the ramifications of an Argentinian dictatorship. A must-watch film.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Mar 4, 2021

official story movie reviews

[A] proudly intelligent, powerfully moving drama, a "political" film that is much, much more than that.

Full Review | Feb 28, 2020

official story movie reviews

Simultaneously serves as a crackling political thriller and a deeply moving family drama.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 23, 2019

official story movie reviews

A rare film, which makes a powerful political statement while telling a touching personal story. In his feature debut, Puenzo shows commitment to human rights without imposing explicit political doctrine.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Dec 23, 2006

official story movie reviews

An almost textbook example of how to use a personal story to tell and illuminate a much larger one (are you listening, Oliver Stone?).

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 23, 2006

official story movie reviews

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 26, 2005

official story movie reviews

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 31, 2005

official story movie reviews

The Official Story is part polemic, part thriller, part tragedy. It belongs on the list with films like Z, Missing and El Norte, which examine the human aspects of political unrest.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Oct 23, 2004

official story movie reviews

From the legacy of anguish left by Argentina's military juntas, Luis Puenzo has created a glowing film.

Full Review | Aug 30, 2004

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Feb 25, 2004

official story movie reviews

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Nov 7, 2002

official story movie reviews

A wrenching and painful drama that crystallizes the horror and the obscenity of political activities that annihilate family solidarity in the name of ideology.

Full Review | Mar 16, 2002

Philosophy in Film

A Philosophical Approach to Cinema

official story movie reviews

Review: The Official Story (La Historia Oficial, 1985) ★★★★

One issue I take with most fictionalized accounts of historical events is that they fail to understand how closely they should match history. There are some that border on documentary, thus distancing themselves from interpretation and disallowing their own creative license. On the other hand, those that use history as a mere tangential element or backdrop for a fictional narrative run the risk of upsetting historical purists and rendering the history largely unnecessary. Some films manage to strike a perfect balance; for example, Schindler’s List (1993) utilizes first-hand accounts of events to inspire its narrative, while also creating a perspective of those events that reflects the director’s own sentiments and intentions. This style actually enhances the dramatic and horrific elements of the story, thus making the history that much more impactful for audiences who are mostly far removed from the events of the Holocaust. In Luis Puenzo’s The Official Story , there is a greater emphasis on dramatic fiction, but it infuses the historical context so naturally within the narrative that, though not as far removed from its own history, it enhances the emotional effect and honors the memory of those affected by the tragedy that unfolded in Argentina.

The film is set in Buenos Aires in the 1980’s, during the military junta (“dictatorship”) that held power in Argentina from 1976 until its fall in 1983. During this time, thousands of citizens who espoused leftist political beliefs were tortured, killed, or disappeared. Many of these “desaparecidos” also fell victim to the forced kidnapping of their children, who were secretly given up for adoption by the military. Alicia (Norma Aleandro), lives in Buenos Aires with her husband, Roberto (Héctor Alterio), and their adopted daughter, Gaby. When Alicia’s longtime friend, Ana (Chunchuna Villafañe), returns from exile, she tells Alicia that she was held captive and tortured by the military, and she witnessed people taking children away from their parents. This leads Alicia to question how they were able to adopt Gaby. Though Roberto dismisses her doubts, Alicia continues searching for the truth, in the hope that she might find Gaby’s birth parents and unravel the mystery of her adoption.

The Official Story greatly benefits from the time in which it was produced. The script was still being written while Argentina’s last dictator, Leopoldo Galtieri, was still in power, and the film was only released two years after his dictatorship fell. This allows for the story to ring true more than most historical dramas, as the filmmaking process was not far removed from the events it depicts. Additionally, Norma Aleandro, whose performance as the mother torn between keeping her daughter and righting a potential wrong, is spectacular; she actually lived through the rule of the junta, and was forced to escape to Uruguay and eventually Spain before returning to her home country. When both the filmmakers and the performers are so closely tied to the historical context of the film, it is difficult to portray anything but the truth.

official story movie reviews

Despite its emotional gravitas, The Official Story does not function as a sweeping historical epic or political thriller, but as an intimate portrayal of a woman who, as a result of her own ignorance of political truths, participated in a horrific and abusive process that tore families apart and forever changed a nation. The characters, though realistic as individuals, also symbolize the different groups that emerged during such a chaotic time. Roberto represents the callous indifference of those in power, willing to do anything to serve the defacto government’s interests. Alicia suffers his abuse, first quietly, and then with an increasing resilience that embodies the mindset of a people fed up with the corruption and human rights abuses suffered for so many years.

While it is easy for these kinds of films to paint a stark contrast between who is right and who is wrong, The Official Story does not overdo its message. Naturally, there is no question that Roberto and the government he represented in the film were on the wrong side of history, but rather than simply drawing lines in the sand, the film gives us glimpses of events unfolding at lightning speed, sometimes out in the open, and sometimes behind closed doors. In both cases, the circumstances are so chaotic that we identify with Alicia’s lack of clarity, and her desire to both know and remain ignorant, for fear of discovering a truth too terrifying to comprehend.

Whether for Norma Aleandro’s exceptional performance or the honest portrayal of a horrific time in Argentina’s history, The Official Story is a must-see film that, in light of the real events, paints a haunting picture of the cruelty humans inflict on one another.

Rating: ★★★★ out of 5

The Official Story is available to purchase via Amazon here .

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  • Review: The Girl with All the Gifts (2016) ★★★
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Matthew Jones

Matthew Jones is a freelance writer who has written for dozens of local and international businesses, in addition to his publications on film and philosophy. To see more of his writing, check out his Medium page or personal website . If you like Philosophy in Film, be sure to contribute on Patreon !

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The Official Story

Norma Aleandro and Analia Castro in The Official Story (1985)

During the final months of Argentinian Military Dictatorship in 1983, a high school teacher sets out to find out who the mother of her adopted daughter is. During the final months of Argentinian Military Dictatorship in 1983, a high school teacher sets out to find out who the mother of her adopted daughter is. During the final months of Argentinian Military Dictatorship in 1983, a high school teacher sets out to find out who the mother of her adopted daughter is.

  • Luis Puenzo
  • Aída Bortnik
  • Norma Aleandro
  • Héctor Alterio
  • Chunchuna Villafañe
  • 55 User reviews
  • 30 Critic reviews
  • 25 wins & 9 nominations total

The Official Story

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  • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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  • Trivia The filming began in 1983, the same year that the military dictatorship ended in Argentina. The filming was cancelled due to the threats received by the director, actors and particularly to Analia Castro 's family. It was announced that filming was cancelled, but production continued in secret until 1985.

Roberto : Where's Gaby?

Alicia : Horrible, isn't it?

Roberto : What's horrible?

Alicia : Not knowing where your daughter is!

  • Alternate versions The 2015 restoration is extended by 2 minutes due to the inclusion of restoration credits at the beginning and end of the film. The opening restoration credits play over the opening scenes in Alicia's classroom. During the restoration end credits, the background goes black and the instrumental version of 'El país de nomeacuerdo' is looped.
  • Connections Featured in At the Movies: Young Sherlock Holmes/Fool for Love/Rocky IV/The Official Story (1985)
  • Soundtracks El pais del nome acuerdo Written by María Elena Walsh Sung by Analia Castro

User reviews 55

  • richardchatten
  • Jul 5, 2019
  • How long is The Official Story? Powered by Alexa
  • November 8, 1985 (United States)
  • Die offizielle Geschichte
  • Historias Cinematograficas
  • Progress Communications
  • See more company credits at IMDbPro
  • Nov 10, 1985

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  • Runtime 1 hour 52 minutes

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official story movie reviews

The Official Story – The film that lifted the lid on Videla’s Argentina

On the day that the ex-dictator of Argentina, Jorge Rafael Videla , died in prison at the age of 87, I went to see The Official Story at the University Católica in the Chilean capital, Santiago. The Argentine film was made and released shortly after the return to democracy and the establishment of human right commissions to investigate the abuses carried out by the military rulers in the country, and it addresses the removal of young children from their subsequently- disappeared parents and relocation with families deemed suitable by the regime. The film’s screening in Santiago came as part of a season of Argentine cinema and happened to coincide with Videla’s death. It was only coincidence that Argentina’s most renowned cinematic work on the subject of the dictatorship should be showing on this day, but it did bring more relevance to the occasion.

Military rule in Argentina lasted from 1976 until 1983 and during that time thousands of people were detained, tortured, murdered or disappeared, and commonly all of these things. Opposition was resolutely quashed and individual rights were curtailed. Although the name of Videla has never reached the international levels of notoriety as those of his Chilean counterpart, General Pinochet, the official number of dead and missing in Argentina is far higher than in Chile, and covers a shorter time period. The Chilean dictator managed to evade justice his whole life until dying peacefully in his own bed in 2006 at the age of 91, whereas Videla was convicted of numerous offences, including murder, kidnap, torture and the forced removal of babies, and saw his days out in a prison cell. In this case, at least, an element of justice was served.

La Historia Oficial or The Official Story (released in the UK as The Official Version ) is a 1985 film directed by Luis Puenzo which is framed from the perspective of Alicia Ibáñez, a married, well-to-do woman who works as a history teacher and whose naïve ignorance manifests in class as she rigidly tows the line with textbooks issued by the authorities, refusing to countenance any views which are sourced externally or offer an alternative perspective. She lives in a bubble of middle-class contentment and privilege with her businessman husband Roberto and their adopted five-year old daughter Gabriela. When her friend Ana returns to Buenos Aires from exile, having previously been tortured over her relationahip with an alleged dissident, Alicia gradually starts to wake up to the dark realities of Argentina, placed conveniently out of sight and mind for the upper sectors of society.

Her disquiet is most aroused by the suspicion that her beloved little Gabi is one of the many children to have been taken from their biological parents. Deeply troubled by her suspicions, she comes into contact with an elderly woman who believes that Gabi could in fact be the child of her own disappeared daughter. Alicia’s newfound awareness leads her to question several other aspects of her previous mindset, and she starts listening to the ‘other side’, the students and colleagues that she previously rebuffed, and Roberto’s left-wing father and brother whose political views are vehemently opposed to those of her husband. This causes serious problems in the hitherto calm waters of the family home.

The character of Alicia serves to represent the well-off sector of Argentine society that remained largely oblivious to the abuses being carried out by the regime, either genuinely unaware or through selective vision. While Alicia falls into the first category, it is clear that Roberto is firmly in the second, and his own involvement with the authorities remains shadowy throughout. When the film was released, Alicia’s awakening mirrored that of many Argentine citizens at the time as the democratic government’s establishment of investigations into abuses and the end of repression exposed the crimes of the military. The Official Story contrasts the role of Alicia with that of more radical left-wing thinkers and of right-wing collaborators to allow her character to become a conduit for the guilt and remorse of certain sectors of a society that had been complicit in the imposition of such a brutal system.

Puenzo wrote the screenplay in secret and was preparing to clandestinely make the film when the military junta collapsed and it became possible to work openly on the project. The crew filmed on the streets of Buenos Aires and included images of the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo , bringing the association widespread attention as women protested in the capital’s main square over the disappearance of children and loved ones. The Grandmothers, identified by their white headscarves as they continue to congregate in the plaza to this day, highlighted the importance of The Official Stor y to their campaign with the following statement: ‘The story casts a light on the drama of the children missing for political reasons, whose identity was obliterated while being raised by families that were not their own, taken as war booty, in a sophisticated example of slavery. With a human touching story it contributes to abolish oblivion, stirring people to collaborate, and at the same time aiding us, the Grandmothers of the Plaza, in our search.’

It must be said that The Official Story does look somewhat dated these days as the wardrobe and soundtrack both reflect the less-fondly remembered styles of the eighties, while Puenzo at times shoots his film in the tones of a Nescafe advert. But it nonetheless represents a key moment in Argentine cinematic history, as one of the first works that addressed the wider societal implications of military rule in the country. It performed very well at the national box office, as the public demonstrated a willingness to examine this traumatic extended episode of the recent past.

The Official Story was also well-received internationally, winning Best Foreign Film at the 1985 Oscars, while Norma Aleandro was awarded the Best Actress prize at the Cannes Festival that same year. (In a neat roundabout touch, Puenzo’s daughter Lucia Puenzo is herself competing at this year’s Cannes Festival with her film Wakolda .)The global success was also something new to Argentine cinema and it marked Puenzo out as not only a filmmaker of cogent political content but also as a purveyor of astute narrative convention. The film’s release and international recognition came three years after the Costa-Gavras film Missing , set in the Chilean coup of 1973 and the subsequent abuses and violence that occurred there, which was also critically acclaimed on the global stage. These two films emphasised the desire of a certain strand of international filmmaker and audience to address the brutality that was taking place in Latin America’s Southern Cone at the time, even as most governments remained silent over human rights abuses and maintained full diplomatic relations with the military regimes of Argentina and Chile.

Despite its outdated surface, The Official Story remains a very important work due to its examination of the socio-political contexts of the return to democracy in Argentina, which it personalises greatly through the roles of the main characters, and its success in transplanting these issues onto an international stage. The critic Jorge Abel Martín summed it up best at the time of its release: according to him, the film is ‘a human and moving document that contributes to prevent oblivion… the painful portrait of a piece of life, a gigantic mirror that returns us thousands of faces.’

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MOVIE REVIEW : A HAUNTING ‘OFFICIAL STORY’

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Horror seeps into the elegantly persuasive and haunting Argentine film “The Official Story” (Cineplex) in the most unexpected fashion. Two affectionate women friends sit, warm and tiddly with their after-dinner liqueurs in a comfortably affluent living room. It is 1983, and this is a reunion. With the crumbling of the military dictatorship, the honey-blond Ana (Chunchuna Villafane), like many others, has come back to Buenos Aires from exile in Europe.

Sitting close beside her, Alicia (Norma Aleandro), a dark-haired, dark-eyed professor of history, asks gently why she left without a word to anyone. And Ana lets terror loose in this serene, secure household.

Although tears stream down her face, Ana is never histrionic as she explains: During the reign of the junta, police burst into her house late one night, questioned her about a political ex-lover, abducted her. Naked, alternately half-drowned and electric-shocked, she was in their hands 36 days, suffering “all their treatment” until she was finally released and fled the country.

Alicia’s reaction might be ours: stupefaction to hear about tortures from this woman, educated, beautiful, clearly “one of us.” The second part of Ana’s story--that at times she could not separate her screams from others in that place, women forcibly separated from their babies--alarms and disturbs her oldest friend. Childless for years, Alicia and her prosperous businessman-husband Roberto, closely allied with the military leadership, adopted an infant daughter five years ago. Their lives now revolve around her, but they have no plans to tell little Gaby she is not theirs, and Alicia is still fragile whenever the matter of adoption is mentioned. She takes Ana’s words about mothers and children almost as an affront.

This scene, one of the finest in a film of surpassing subtlety and insight, is a brilliant device by director, co-writer Luis Puenzo. With this harrowing encounter between Alicia and Ana, he intertwines his personal and political themes: the angry, sorrowing “Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo” have become a presence in this household.

(These are the implacable women who insist by their daily presence and their photograph-dotted placards that the government account for the desaparecidos , more than 9,000 citizens, many of them young people, swept up by the state in its “dirty war” of the 1970s.)

What follows is Alicia’s lonely, determined search for the truth--and the outcome of her efforts is not a solution but another question. Puenzo’s canniness is his milieu: Roberto’s gleaming multinational corporation; Alicia’s friends from girlhood, women like herself, elegant, smoothly unlined. Ana puts her finger on it when she looks at one of these 40ish women and says how strange it is not to have changed at all while their world has undergone such upheaval. It is a truly slumbering society.

The writers have a good ear for repression far more subtle than police in the night. Roberto may sigh to his men friends about the indulgences that the beautiful Argentine women deserve simply for being their charming selves. But let Alicia be gone more than once when he comes home at night and his response is icy and contemptuous.

We follow Alicia, teaching “the official version” of Argentine history to a questioning, fractious group of boys at a privileged high school, or following a story whose end she really does not want to know. The warmth, the candor, the intelligence of Norma Aleandro’s towering and deeply affecting performance makes it clear how she won best actress at Cannes (where she shared the award with Cher for her performance in “Mask”), Cartagena and now the New York Film Critics Assn. (“The Official Story” is Argentina’s entry in the best foreign language film Oscar category.)

But there is no performance here that is not fully shaded: Chunchuna Villafane’s exquisite Ana, strong and contemporaneous, standing out among her conventional schoolmates like some fearless goddess; Chela Ruiz as Sara, the Plaza grandmother, a performance of great simplicity, or Hector Alterio’s superb insights as the increasingly desperate Roberto, which let us understand what we may not be able to forgive.

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COMMENTS

  1. The Official Story movie review (1985) | Roger Ebert

    Most political films play outside the countries that they are about; "The Official Story" is now actually playing in Argentina, where it must be almost unbearably painful for some of the members of its audiences. It was almost as painful for me. Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013.

  2. The Official Story | Rotten Tomatoes

    The Official Story is part polemic, part thriller, part tragedy. It belongs on the list with films like Z, Missing and El Norte, which examine the human aspects of political unrest. October 23 ...

  3. The Official Story - Movie Reviews | Rotten Tomatoes

    Philip Martin Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 31, 2005. Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times. TOP CRITIC. The Official Story is part polemic, part thriller, part ...

  4. Review: The Official Story (La Historia Oficial, 1985)

    The Official Story (1985) Despite its emotional gravitas, The Official Story does not function as a sweeping historical epic or political thriller, but as an intimate portrayal of a woman who, as a result of her own ignorance of political truths, participated in a horrific and abusive process that tore families apart and forever changed a nation.

  5. The Official Story - Wikipedia

    The Official Story. The Official Story ( Spanish: La historia oficial) is a 1985 Argentine historical drama film directed by Luis Puenzo and written by Puenzo and Aída Bortnik. It stars Norma Aleandro, Héctor Alterio, Chunchuna Villafañe and Hugo Arana. In the United Kingdom, it was released as The Official Version.

  6. The Official Story (1985) - The Official Story (1985) - User ...

    The movie should be okay for most teenagers to view. A film of shattering power. howard.schumann 24 March 2003. In the powerful 1985 film The Official Story, Director Luis Puenzo tells the story of a teacher's awakening to conscience at the end of Argentina's "Dirty War" of the late 70s and early 80s. As in Pinochet's Chile, the military secret ...

  7. The Official Story (1985) - IMDb

    The Official Story: Directed by Luis Puenzo. With Héctor Alterio, Norma Aleandro, Chunchuna Villafañe, Hugo Arana. During the final months of Argentinian Military Dictatorship in 1983, a high school teacher sets out to find out who the mother of her adopted daughter is.

  8. The Official Story - The film that lifted the lid on Videla's ...

    The Official Story – The film that lifted the lid on Videla’s Argentina. By Nick MacWilliam 22 May, 2013. On the day that the ex-dictator of Argentina, Jorge Rafael Videla, died in prison at the age of 87, I went to see The Official Story at the University Católica in the Chilean capital, Santiago. The Argentine film was made and released ...

  9. The Official Story | Film Review | Spirituality & Practice

    Alicia (Norma Aleandro) and Roberto (Hector Alterio) are a well-to-do couple who live with their adopted daughter Gaby (Analia Castro) in Buenos Aires. The year is 1983. She teaches history in a private boys' school, and he is a rich and powerful businessman with connections in the military government. Their prosperous life is upset when Ana ...

  10. MOVIE REVIEW : A HAUNTING 'OFFICIAL STORY' - Los Angeles Times

    Dec. 20, 1985 12 AM PT. <i> Times Film Critic</i>. Horror seeps into the elegantly persuasive and haunting Argentine film “The Official Story” (Cineplex) in the most unexpected fashion. Two ...