Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Jay Harris This is not a happy, joyful film. There was a period where innocent people were arrested & brutally questioned & subsequently disappeared.This tragedy occurred in many countries around the world,Antonio Bandares & Emma Thompson are a happily married couple with a teen aged daughter. Emma is arrested for no good reason, The rest of film is Antonio's search. It is a very grim search.This is perhaps Antonio Bandares' best role to date.Why this had such a poor release in the US or anywhere is beyond me.The Director & screenplay writer is Christopher Hampton, an Oscar winner for Dangerous Liassons, Emma Thompsin is an Oscar winner, & Antonio Bandares is a major star.This is an excellently acted & made film. It is not for children, as it is quite violent & there are more than a few scary images.It is a fine drama & should be see, It is in English.rating:***1/2 (out of 4)91 points (out or 100) IMDb 8 (out of 10)

oli-79 This was truly enjoyable movie in many ways.The acting was great all around. Powerful emotions were realistically portrayed by seasoned actors, relative newcomers and unknown extras alike. Direction, filmography and locations really come together to set a scene more realistic than most films even aspire to.This film succeeds in projecting, through the characters, the full range of emotions that any individual must feel when their freedoms are seriously undermined by a corrupt ruling power, the same power that they would normally look to to resolve such issues. This is not a feel-good movie, and anyone expecting comic relief at any time may be disappointed. This movie sets out to instill feelings in the audience that may help them to relate to the people in the story. It does not abuse concepts such as violence in order to get a kick out of the audience. Unfortunately, many of those who have posted comments on this movie have failed to grasp part of the point. This is not merely a movie designed to remind the viewer of the past. It intends to remind the viewer that such actions continue to occur worldwide, and that it is only the people themselves who can keep their governments from resorting to such inhumane measures, by reminding their rulers repeatedly that they will not stand for it, in their country or any other. Frankly, it disturbs me that films this deep go virtually unnoticed by the masses, while flashy but hollow explosion-fests receive awards.

jotix100 We read the original text by Lawrence Thornton when it was published in this country and liked it for what it dared to present. Not having seen the film, as we don't think it was ever released commercially in this country, or maybe it was just seen in a few markets, we recently caught up with it via the DVD version. Coming, as it did, to the screen adapted by an English playwright, Christopher Hampton, we were expecting much more than what we see on the screen. The novel is worth reading for anyone interested in the tragedy that was perpetuated in Argentina, in which the people in power decided to eliminate, gradually, all those that opposed the military regime, or as in the case of the story at hand, innocent people that had brains to realize the atrocities that were being committed by the brutal people in power.The main problem with the film is the tone that Mr. Hampton decided to give his adaptation. The metaphysical powers of Carlos Rueda occupy center This film could have improved with an all Spanish cast instead of the mixture of acting styles and accents in the finished product. Casting a bearded Antonio Banderas, as Carlos, was perhaps, the wrong choice. Mr. Banderas, whose career in America has been in mostly action movies, is not effective as the man who sees into the crimes that are being committed, including those against his wife, Cecilia, and his daughter, Teresa, but is helpless to do anything to help them.A heavily accented Emma Thompson is seen as Cecilia, who sees her world shattered when they take her away and is tortured by those savages that kept her. Ruben Blades has nothing to do in the film, as his presence doesn't add anything to the story. Ditto for Maria Canals, who plays Esme, the loyal friend. Leticia Dolera appears as Carlos and Cecilia's daughter Teresa, who like her mother, is taken away as a lesson for the father, who has dared to ask about their whereabouts and has protested publicly.The only thing the film serves is to remind us about those totalitarian governments that have brought to power dictators like the ones that wrecked havoc in Argentina against people they thought were in their way.

airesflora I won't take away from the movie, it was good and dramatic. But I was disappointed in the projection of reality of the subject. First, the reality of why people were disappeared was barely touched upon. They mentioned the word "subversives" but they failed to project exactly what that meant, at least in my opinion. The fact that even in Operation Condor, the U.S. was involved and Henry Kissinger gave his blessing with his own words pretty much telling the Videla's government, do what you must, we understand, but hey can't you keep it out of the news because the publicity is bad and we are trying to help fund you...that was missed. Also the fact that people were ASSUMED to be communist sympathizers, whether or not they were, was sort of swept under the carpet to focus on Antonio Banderas other skills. What I did like was the fact that they tied it to the Nazis and rightfully so. What I didn't like was the fact that at the end of the movie they failed to note how many American citizens have been "disappeared" or are doing time in our own concentration camp in Cuba.I also was disappointed they failed to mention the babies that were taken from their mothers (which was a huge focus of the Abuelitos de Plaza Mayo) and sold to the high ranking soldiers or even sold to other wealthy people in various countries outside of Argentina. They only touched on the Wednesday helicopter rides, where people were thrown out to die. These things bothered me about the movie, because I think a movie of such relevant subject matter should tell the real story. Especially when it involved the death of so many innocent people. And I do believe it's time to stop making these incidents look isolated to individual countries and show how the Imperialistic values of a group of socialist Nazis has spread this mentality throughout the world and that's why the same practices are done all over. There is so much they could have done with this movie that wasn't done. Was it good? Yes. But it could have been great.