Cautiva

The emotional after-effects of Argentina's “dirty war” (from 1976-1983, when citizens were routinely subjected to military state-sponsored violence) are the focus of Gastón Biraben's fine drama Cautiva. Set in 1994, the film follows the wrenching journey of Cristina, a 15-year-old Buenos Aires student abruptly removed by the courts from her home: it appears that her "father," a retired officer in the national police, stole Cristina when she was a baby from her political activist parents, who were arrested and among Argentina's “disappeared” during the 1970s. Told that her name is Sofia, Cristina is forcibly reunited with her biological grandmother (in fact, the courts forbid her to return to the couple she assumed were her parents), and—while readjusting—she discovers that her case is not unique. Although Cautiva is a bit too melodramatic and predictable during its final stretch, it nonetheless provides a unique glimpse of Argentina's recent ugly past as seen through the eyes of someone who wasn't even aware she was a victim, while also featuring an extraordinary performance by young Bárbara Lombardo as Cristina, who must awkwardly try to rebuild her life with ostensible strangers. Recommended. (P. Hall)