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Imagining Argentina
Imagining Argentina
	Theatrical release film poster
Directed by	Christopher Hampton
Screenplay by	Christopher Hampton
Based on	Imagining Argentina; by Lawrence Thornton
Produced by	Michael Peyser; Diane Sillan; Santiago Pozo; Geoffrey C. Lands
Starring	Antonio Banderas; Emma Thompson; Leticia Dolera; Maria Canals ; Rubén Blades
Cinematography	Guillermo Navarro
Edited by	George Akers
Music by	George Fenton
Production; companies	Multivideo; Arenas Entertainment; Myriad Pictures; Green Moon Productions; Imagining Argentina Productions Ltd.; Mike's Movies; Tide Rock Entertainment
Distributed by	Arenas Entertainment (United States) ; Manga Films (Spain) ; Universal Pictures (Argentina and United Kingdom, through United International Pictures)
Release date	12 September 2003;
Running time	107 minutes
Countries	Spain; United Kingdom; United States
Language	English
Box office	$383,106

Imagining Argentina is a 2003 drama historical film written and directed by British playwright Christopher Hampton and starring Antonio Banderas, Emma Thompson, Leticia Dolera and Rubén Blades. It is based on the award-winning eponymous 1987 novel by American writer Lawrence Thornton. It was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 2003 Venice Film Festival.

The film is centered on a couple living through the oppressive last military dictatorship in Argentina (1976-1983) and the Dirty War it conducted. Graphic images of suffering, such as rape and torture, are depicted. The closing caption states that a total of nearly 30,000 Argentines were "disappeared" through this period. The film was a joint USA/Argentina/Spain/UK production.

Plot synopsis

During the last civil-military dictatorship in Argentina, the military government conducts what was known as a Dirty War against opponents, abducting and often murdering those opposed to its rule. Cecilia, a dissident journalist living in Buenos Aires, is kidnapped by the secret police to join the ranks of the disappeared. She had earlier published a challenging article in her outrage over the forced disappearance of students protesting the bus fares.

As her husband Carlos, a theatre director, begins to search frantically for her, he realizes that he has acquired psychic power that enables him to predict the future. Carlos is sought after by others who have lost loved ones. This power helps Carlos foresee what happens to his wife and other detainees. At one point, Carlos visits the Naval Mechanics School, revealed as a notorious center of torture and murder of detainees.

Cast

Antonio Banderas as Carlos Rueda
Emma Thompson as Cecilia Rueda
Leticia Dolera as Teresa Rueda, Carlos and Cecilia's daughter
Maria Canals as Esme Palomares
Rubén Blades as Silvio Ayala
Mariana Seligmann as Guzman Tochter
Irene Escolar as Eurydice
Andreas Tang as himself
Kuno Becker as Gustavo Santos, a warden
Anton Lesser as General Guzmán
Marzenka Novak as Sasha

Reception

Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 31% based on reviews from 13 critics, with an average rating of 4.30/10.^[2] Metacritic calculated an average score of 27 out of 100 based on 4 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".^[3]

Peter Bradshaw for The Guardian wrote:

"well, what can I say about something destined to be a cult classic of awfulness? Imagining Argentina is an excruciatingly misjudged attempt to impose a layer of occult spirituality on an important political subject... The spectacle of Banderas exercising his sensitive magic powers, intercut with Thompson getting horribly raped and beaten - with close-ups on her droll, quizzical face contorted in agony - is truly wince-making".^[4]