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Wow! Such a good movie.

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

I am pretty sure that it is not possible for someone other than an Argentine to make a film about this subject and have it matter. These are people who at the beginning of the terror supported it wholeheartedly. The military simply responded to what they saw was a terrorist threat by arresting without process and torturing. Starting small means starting; once you cross the line, everything else is trivial. And so 6 years of what ramped up to 3o police murders a day in Buenos Aires.So this thing lacks power as a story about Argentine horror. But even through all its faults, it still rings true and haunts about things at home: power corrupted and evil. Torture to protect citizens never does. The film is incredibly muffed, in pretty much all dimensions except...There are two good scenes. One is when the husband of the newly missing wife is comforted by his daughter in a somewhat sexual way. This was made for American consumption, and though the interaction may be genuinely Latin, the implication in this context is plain. It was a powerful scene and sets up all that follows.The second powerful scene is the unveiling of a spy. There is only a second that matters, when the man knows he is revealed and you see not panic but blame to his informant. It happens fact but it matters.Otherwise, what we have is a powerfully conceived set of folding narratives: a man as a playwright (precisely as in "The Lives of Others") in a film with deliberate dissonance. And him further as a psychic, telling the story to us and other characters as it happens to him. In other hands, this could have worked, especially with the intended fold from then there to now here.Tangos, l'exil de Gardel, was not good, but still better and at least genuine.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

I was truly saddened as I watched this--as it hit me that the real tragedy of this time period was being used as a backdrop for a suspense story about a man who discovers his powers of clairvoyance. See "The Official Story" or "Missing," as another person mentioned on this message board, for a real sense of what happened.The gratuitous scenes of torture and death reflect a terrible lack of understanding of what went on in that country.The purpose of this film does not appear to be to shed light on any sort of reality of what happened, but rather to tell some sort of fictitious hero's story. It plays upon the deepest wishes of the victims of a tragedy for an outcome different from what really happened. Ridiculous and infuriating.

Someone -- either the novelist or the scriptwriters -- tried very hard to come up with a viable interpretation of an episode in history that, like so many others of its kind, offers no easy narrative. The horrors of war, genocide, class conflict, and other human excesses suggest many scenarios that translate easily into dramatic versions, but few result in successful or satisfying exposition. This one is no exception.So while I award it points for intent, I cannot regard it with the same awe and appreciation that some others have expressed. Mistaking the subject for the production is a common error.The production is flawed here by departing from actual representation of events in order to magnify them through the prism of artistic pretense. Remembering evil and savoring the courage of those who oppose it imparts more dramatic impact when it is underplayed, when it emphasizes the banality of that evil (a phrase I borrow often from, I think, Hannah Arendt). One reviewer has made a very good point by suggesting that, rather than showing an unconvincing Banderas clairvoyancy, this story could have relied on demonstrating the suffering and ultimate resolution of character as lived by its survivors.Another problem with the production (and I confess this is another of my pet peeves) is that it panders to a primarily Anglophone audience. Like its companion Banderas opus Of Love and Shadows, it fails to appreciate the intelligence of the Spanish language in its own voice. Subtitles are not so bad, after all, and surely Emma Thompson has enough work coming her way to have given her some pause before taking on this odd piece of acting.Still, the sentiment is true. But how I wish other commentators would get off their soapboxes on the issue of scapegoating the USA for everything bad that happens in the world and concentrate instead on homegrown villains. Argentina and the rest of Latin America have their own duplicity to answer for.

This was truly enjoyable movie in many ways.The acting was great all around. Powerful emotions were realistically portrayed by seasoned actors, relative newcomers and unknown extras alike. Direction, filmography and locations really come together to set a scene more realistic than most films even aspire to.This film succeeds in projecting, through the characters, the full range of emotions that any individual must feel when their freedoms are seriously undermined by a corrupt ruling power, the same power that they would normally look to to resolve such issues. This is not a feel-good movie, and anyone expecting comic relief at any time may be disappointed. This movie sets out to instill feelings in the audience that may help them to relate to the people in the story. It does not abuse concepts such as violence in order to get a kick out of the audience. Unfortunately, many of those who have posted comments on this movie have failed to grasp part of the point. This is not merely a movie designed to remind the viewer of the past. It intends to remind the viewer that such actions continue to occur worldwide, and that it is only the people themselves who can keep their governments from resorting to such inhumane measures, by reminding their rulers repeatedly that they will not stand for it, in their country or any other. Frankly, it disturbs me that films this deep go virtually unnoticed by the masses, while flashy but hollow explosion-fests receive awards.