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Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

............................................................from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, COLOMBIA and ORLANDO, FL In English, when we say, "He was DISAPPEARED", we are using a term that came into English from Spanish. Over the past decades, countless thousands have suffered this fate in many South and Central American countries. Cautiva offers us a genuinely fresh take on this somber subject. We see the problem from the perspective of a teenage girl, Cristina Quadri, who one day, without the slightest warning, is yanked out of her class at school and taken to the office of a federal judge. He then proceeds to unravel her world by informing her that her real name is Sofia Lombardi and that her parents were "disappeared" by the dictatorship in power at the time of her birth in 1978. Furthermore, the people who she has called "Mom and Dad" her whole life, are, in reality, her abductors. At first, she is completely incredulous. In a most demanding role, Barbara Lombardo delivers an extremely intense and nuanced performance that is nothing short of awesome. To watch her gradually, step by step, come to terms with the stark and utter tragedy of her reality, is something very few actors could have done so convincingly! Cautiva leaves us contemplating just how profoundly life altering the truth can be. The film, of course, is in Spanish, and as to the quality or speed of the subtitles, I'm sorry, but I don't need them, so I can't offer an opinion.9*.....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA!Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most [email protected]

The 'Dirty War' in Argentina, and the disappearances of radicals that plagued that era, had long and lasting effects on the Argentinean people. In the tradition of 'La Historia Oficial', Cautiva follows one of the affected – in this case, a teenage girl who learns that she is not her parents' child, but in fact one of the disappeared children who was forcefully taken from her parents. The emotional trauma and the process of understanding, accepting, and internalizing this kind of massive shock is convincingly transmitted by the actors and the shooting style. The powerful emotional scenes are handled wonderfully by the Bárbara Lombardo in her debut role. This movie really knocks you for a loop, then knocks the wind out of you – really an emotional roller coaster. Excellent film, overall.

Thirty years ago, Argentinian dissidents were basically kidnapped, taken to concentration camps or clandestine prisons, and systematically eliminated. Oddly enough though, the children of the dissidents were taken and adopted by others, the adoptive parents sworn to secrecy. Years later, technology caught up with those affected in the form of blood tests, and the truth began to rear its head. This is a film about personal identity, what defines parenthood, and the decisions adults make which affect young lives.Barbara Lombardo stars as the confused teenager Christina/Sofia who can not bring herself to accept the circumstances thrust upon her. At first she only yearns to return to her "parents" until she discovers that even they were complicit in the circumstances surrounding her infancy. Her new family members attempt to make her feel comfortable and wanted, but Cristina/Sofia can not help but to research her past with the help of another friend who lives with a similar situation. Together they discover the uncomfortable truth behind all the confusion.First time director Gaston Biraben takes time telling his story, which may seem incomprehensible to outsiders unfamiliar with the background behind the events. He uses visual imagery to mark the conflicts and comparisons he uses to tell the story. Lombardo peering into a bedroom closet mirror may seem obvious, but he redeems himself with the nude shower scene with Christina/Sofia and her friend meeting face to face, suggesting that we're all naked when we discover the lack of identity in our background. It's a story told several times in other films, but it's one, like Holocaust themes/stories, that doesn't lose its ability to command our attention. *** of 4 stars.

A political film in the higher sense of the term, it made me put into question many beliefs I had on my country. Isn't this one of the highest functions of Art!? What I liked most is that, although it obviously "has an agenda", I don't think they fall for "defending a political thesis at all costs". Such a common mistake of Argentine cinema on the "desaparecidos"... It's not without defects, thou. A bit "black and white", stereotyped characters. Let me elaborate: the "left wingers" seem to have no defects AT ALL, they're "full of love and high principles". And the "rednecks" are unlawful liers, violent, hypocritical and even ..."ugly"! They could also take bribes to "have all vices"... I mean, yes, characters could be more nuanced, but, given the low average of reality in most other films of the genre, I think this one deserves accolades. Some humour in any way would have helped, I guess. Just a personal opinion. Is there any worse thing than what happens here? I can't think of more than one (murder, in all its forms). I think even rape is "less bad"! Before turning this into a "moral philosophy", let me point at the scenes I liked most: 1) When Sofía and her expressive Spanish friend have this important talk about life, surrounded by soccer. Now as before, quenching everything that matters. The "paralelism" is challenger indeed! 2) Having Ives's "The unanswered question" as a musical score when... (I can't say more!) 3) Final scene (aerial take, Handel?) 4) The shower scene, between the two now women, "naked" in more than one sense 5) The brawl between the Quadris and Sofia. An one moment, Pablo starts treating Sofia as a stranger, almost an enemy. Suddenly, her "dear daughter Cristina" is dead, even before he hits her. (maybe a bit predictable I guess) 6) (you may laugh) "The nightmare". It made me realize true horror is not what Hollywood sells us, it's opening a door into the unknown (in her grandma's or aunt's house) and finding a glimpse of a life frozen in time (her dead mother's). The film luckily avoids many pitfalls. Has only one very unbelievable moment, when a nun's teen escapes from Tribunales, from the same savvy cops who reduce the also hard boiled Pablo Quadri. Tribunales' zone is very WELL FILMED, feels absolutely real to somebody like me who's hanged around there very often. Retiro, the trains, both schools... It's a very Argentine film! By the way, found it great how she "downgraded" economically from her rather posh house in the suburbs to her grandma's "dark old house" & derelict Citroen! The contrast between the nun's school, which is not luxurious but looks like when compared to the truly depressing state school! I was surprised about the performances! Have to say I didn't expect much from this film, for a) I don't like Argentine cinema b) the subject is normally a sign of a tsunami of clichés c) didn't have much faith in Lombardero. When I saw "Hugo Arana" I feared the worst :) I had to gulp my prejudices, they both acted surprisingly subduedly, without overemphasis. I had my "lesson", they taught it to me. I would have liked to know what was being played during the film, I loved the usage of classical music throughout the film (not in just a couple of broken scenes). My kudos to the director, of whom I knew nothing, and who (thanks IMDb!) has been a "sound editor" in mainstream American cinema! Well, I hope he continues to surprise us!