Adriana's Pact

Adriana's Pact *** (2019) Storyboard Media, 96 min., in Spanish w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD Chilean filmmaker Lissette Orozco believes that "every family has their secrets." When she discovered hers, she embarked on her first feature. Since her parents were practically kids when they had her, she was raised primarily by her grandmother and great-grandmother (she never returns to this thread, so it isn't clear what happened to them). From all appearances, they're a close-knit family.  Orozco was particularly close to her Aunt Adriana "Chany" Rivas who left the country when she was young, but would return to visit regularly. Orozco considered the glamorous Chany "her idol." Chany, who claimed to work for the Air Force, would bring gifts for everyone when she returned to Santiago, but then, in 2006, the police arrested her upon her arrival from Australia. She stood accused of participating in torture and murder as a member of DINA (National Intelligence Directorate), Augusto Pinochet's secret police force. Orozco speaks to Chany in person and by way of Skype while she's out on parole. Chany denies the charges, saying she worked as a translator for the Department of Defense. Though she's forbidden from leaving the country, she flees to Australia while Orozco is in the hospital recovering from a car accident. Orozco contacts Chany's former colleagues, but none of them want to participate in the documentary. Then even Chany becomes cagey when Orozco asks her again about torture. She claims she never witnessed anything, but then proceeds to tell a local newspaper that she did. "It's the only way to break people," she reasons. As word gets out, Sydney activists call for her extradition. Then a witness comes forward to share damning information with Orozco. She may have made the documentary to give Chany the chance to exonerate herself, but she loses faith as the evidence against her aunt grows. In the end, she leaves it up to viewers to decide, but a postscript would have helped, since it isn't clear if Chany ever stood trial for her alleged crimes--or if she ever will. This is still recommended. Aud: C, P (K. Fennessy)