The Official Story

I had mixed emotions after viewing this film. Yes it was very good film but I was torn between Alicia finding out the truth behind Gaby’s adoption and thinking that she should have left well enough alone. I know the actual story is fictional but in reality it was telling the story of hundreds maybe even thousands. There are a lot of Alicia’s out there that adopted the children taken illegally and a lot of Gaby’s that will never know their real parents due to the military takeover in Argentina.
The film is about a women’s journey in searching for the truth behind the adoption of her beautiful daughter. Alicia is married to Roberto and after trying to have a child for years they end up adopting Gaby. The one condition of the adoption is that Alicia can never ask about it. Roberto on the other hand knows all the details. They are an affluent couple and have provided Gaby with a loving home. Things change for this family in a short amount of time.
Alicia teaches history and from the start she lets the students know that she teaches straight from the book and does not put up with any nonsense. The students on the other hand think the book was written by murderers and let her know it. One day she comes in and finds pictures all over the board depicting missing and or murdered women and children. She has one of the students remove the pictures but instead of throwing them away she keeps them.
We also meet Alicia’s childhood friend Ana that had been away for quite a while. When we first meet Ana there is a group of old friends having dinner and afterwards Ana ends up back at Alicia’s. The two are drinking, laughing and having a good time when Alicia asks Ana why she just disappeared. I do not think Alicia was prepared for the answer that she got. Ana told her about being held captive and tortured by the military. She described what she in detail she had endured and also what she saw. She told Alicia about seeing pregnant women and then later seeing them without their babies, sometimes she never saw them again. I think it was at this point that Alicia really started to question the details of Gaby’s adoption.
During the quest for answers Alicia finds out details about Roberto that she never knew. He was part of the military junta. This comes out when she will not stop asking questions and the adoption. After Alicia brings a women to their home that could possibly be Gaby’s biological grandmother, he goes ballistic and after throwing the women out he physically assaults Alicia by ramming her head in the wall and slamming her hand several times in the door. Alicia is begging him to stop and when he does the phone rings and it is Gaby wanting to say goodnight and sing them the song that she has learned. Roberto talks to Gaby and listens to her song but Alicia is upset and can’t talk to her daughter, maybe she is upset about what just happened or maybe she is upset about finally learning the truth about the adoption. Whatever the reason Alicia hugs Roberto then leaves.
This film is full of hope and hopelessness. You feel the hopelessness when watching the demonstrators looking for their missing loved one. Theirs is of hope, the hope of finding them alive and well. The hopelessness is in knowing that they will never be found because they have been murdered. The hope that comes out of all of this is Gaby. She represents hope for all the families of those that have missing loved ones. I think that Alicia and Roberto love Gaby with all their hearts but with the way Alicia left I feel like the chance of their marriage staying together is hopeless.
I mentioned earlier in my blog that maybe Alicia should leave well enough alone. I have to think that if I adopted I would want to know everything that I could about birth parents so that I could share this with my child later on. I am reminded of the old saying that “the truth shall set you free”. I hope Alicia felt this way after her quest for the truth was over.