Entertainment
A brutal military dictatorship goes on trial in Oscar contender ‘Argentina, 1985’
This isn’t the primary time that actor Ricardo Darín has helped shine a light-weight into one of many dingiest rooms in Argentina’s historical past: the army dictatorship that staged a right-wing coup d’etat and dominated his nation between 1976 and 1983, throughout which as many as 30,000 individuals could have been murdered and disappeared.
He did it earlier than, taking part in a former prison investigator in director Juan José Campanella’s “The Secret in Their Eyes” (2009), which received the Oscar for international movie. In “Kamchatka” (2002) he portrayed a analysis scientist hiding out along with his household from the army police. And in “Kóblik” (2016) he starred as a former Navy pilot who turns into a marked man after disobeying an order to participate in so-called “loss of life flights,” wherein purported enemies of the junta had been stripped, drugged and thrown out of airplanes and helicopters.
However he’s added a brand new twist in “Argentina, 1985,” which premieres Friday on Amazon Prime Video and is Argentina’s Oscar entry for worldwide movie. It’s the primary time he’s performed an actual individual from that bleak period, Julio César Strassera, a revered determine who’s rightly considered a defender of Latin American democracy. An Argentine lawyer, Strassera served as chief federal prosecutor within the 1985 trial of the army leaders liable for large human rights crimes.
“I’m particularly honored to have performed this nice man — who was incorrectly referred to as ‘widespread’ or ‘easy’ — inside a context wherein he and his workforce needed to put apart all their fears and uncertainties,” Darín stated, talking by cellphone.
Strassera and his assistant Luis Moreno Ocampo (performed within the movie by Peter Lanzani) confronted “a titanic process,” Darín stated, in placing collectively a case for which there was little or no “tangible proof” that immediately and personally related the heads of the armed forces to waging the so-called Soiled Struggle. The crimes waged throughout this period included assassinations, torture, rape, pressured exile and the kidnapping and trafficking of minors who’d been snatched by authorities brokers from their imprisoned and murdered dad and mom.
A number of of the principle commanders had been sentenced to life imprisonment, together with Jorge Rafael Videla, head of the military, who was later pardoned by President Carlos Menem, arrested once more and at last imprisoned till his loss of life in 2013. Strassera died in 2015.
“I imagine that each one of this was achieved because of the efforts of many individuals who, in some circumstances, responded to the prosecution’s name to present testimony earlier than the court docket,” Darín stated. “Democracy had simply been restored, and lots of people didn’t actually imagine that this trial was going to happen, even after it was introduced.”
“Argentina, 1985″ is the second collaboration between Darín and director-screenwriter Santiago Mitre following “La Cordillera” (2017), wherein the actor portrayed a fictional Argentine president of doubtful morals, reminding some viewers of Mauricio Macri, a neoliberal businessman who served as president between 2015 and 2019.
“Once I made that movie with Ricardo, I found that, along with being a proficient actor, refined and intensely exact in the best way he works and makes use of his dramatic sources, he’s a filmmaker, an individual who thinks about cinema in all its elements,” Mitre stated. “He was the primary I considered to inform this story, and he instructed me instantly that he would play Strassera.”
Peter Lanzani (izq.) and Ricardo Darín painting the lead prosecutors in “Argentina, 1985.”
(Amazon Studios)
When the primary listening to of the so-called Juicio a las Juntas convened, Darín already had begun working as a younger actor, having fun with a minor however rising fame from roles in movie, theater and tv. He didn’t hear the eloquent and shifting speech with which the prosecutor closed his argument in court docket, which is reproduced within the movie.
“This occurred nearly 40 years in the past, when the world of communications was utterly totally different,” Darín stated. “On tv just some fragments of the trial had been proven, solely with photographs that didn’t have audio, and all of the testimonies had been introduced from behind, with out exhibiting the faces of those that spoke, to guard the victims and the survivors.”
An audio recording of the speech was later launched, and the movie makers consulted different historic sources. However they weren’t attempting to mimic actual occasions or stage a interval piece.
“What we’re attempting to do is seize what these individuals had been considering and doing on the time,” he stated. “We tried to think about all that, and hand in hand with a script as well-written because the one which was used, we fashioned a workforce wherein we fed every day with a little bit extra data. However we all the time had the target to not copy and to order a small area of freedom by way of creativeness, as a result of we now have to keep in mind that this can be a movie that recreates the trial, however that additionally appeals to fiction by exhibiting conditions that didn’t precisely occur that approach.”
Mitre and his co-screenwriter Mariano Llinás performed a number of interviews with the deputy prosecutor, Luis Moreno Campo, and met with Strassera’s widow, Marissa, his son Julián and most members of the workforce of prosecutors.
“Plenty of the scenes we present are immediately impressed by what these individuals instructed us, and spending time with these identical individuals made me bond with them,” the filmmaker stated. “After they noticed the movie, they felt good about the best way it portrays what occurred and the function they performed within the trial.”
“After all, exterior of any political dialogue, what we wished to do was an excellent film, that might dialogue with the audiences of this time and with the viewers who knew nothing of the method that happened in these instances,” he added.
To that finish, Mitre wished to make the film’s visible and narrative fashion accessible within the method of a basic Hollywood courtroom drama.
“I used to be eager about John Ford, about [Frank] Capra, about [Howard] Hawks, about Billy Wilder,” Mitre stated. “And though it might sound pretentious, typically your references additionally need to do with the artwork world.”
Strassera additionally personified the “hero regardless of himself,” a basic cinematic archetype, Mitre continued.
“We had been additionally searching for the strain of up to date cinema, and in that sense, we considered ‘All of the President’s Males’ and ‘The Publish ‘ by [Steven] Spielberg, the place there’s a really energetic idea of group work,” he added. “Nor ought to we neglect about Latin American cinema.” He cited Pablo Larraín’s “No” (2012), starring Gael García Bernal, a couple of plebiscite that led to the unraveling of Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship, as “a fantastic movie that additionally narrates a democratic transition, though it’s the Chilean one, which was very totally different from the Argentine one.”
In “Argentina 1985,” Darín, who’s 65, performs a person who was in his early 50s when the Juicio a las Juntas started. His deputy, Moreno Ocampo, was a lot youthful (33 on the time), as was many of the remainder of the prosecutorial workforce — a distinction that underscores the hole between how older Argentines recall (or select to neglect) the Soiled Struggle whereas youthful Argentines try and piece it collectively.
The movie’s illustration of the workforce of prosecutors precisely displays its general youthfulness.
(Amazon Studios)
“After we began this undertaking, we realized that individuals had little or no recollection of this trial, which confirmed us how essential it was to inform this story not solely to younger individuals in our nation, but in addition to these in several elements of the world,” Mitre stated.
“It was essential to show that the seek for justice is critical to consolidate a democratic splendid,” Mitre stated, significantly at a time like the current wherein democracy is being undermined and dropping assist amongst younger individuals who haven’t skilled the horrors of dictatorship and will take democracy and the rule of legislation as a right.
The connection that the movie seeks with younger individuals hasn’t gone unnoticed by Darín.
“If there’s a chance that this movie has a message, it’s discovered exactly within the youngest, as a result of it’s comprehensible that individuals who had been born beneath a democracy don’t notice the dimension of what occurred, all of the struggling and obstacles they needed to undergo.”
“We stay in an period,” he continued, wherein younger individuals “are glued to their telephones on a regular basis.”
“However actuality is actuality: There was torture, there have been disappearances, there have been atrocious actions towards individuals who had completely nothing to do with the accusations made towards them, and which occurred just because they had been on a detainee’s agenda or as a result of somebody pointed a finger at them.”
No matter political ideology, the trial depicted in “Argentina, 1985″ argues that there have to be requirements of proper and unsuitable that apply to all humanity.
“After that, you possibly can have no matter political place you need,” Darín concluded, “however you can not fail to acknowledge that there are ethics, values and morals that have to be revered.”
Arrivals are underway at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, and The Times’ photo team is out in force on the red carpet (and beyond). Whether you’re following along live in the lead-up to Sunday’s telecast, hosted by Nikki Glaser, or bookmarking our gallery to peruse over coffee Monday morning, we have the full rundown of the evening’s best fashions below. Happy browsing!
Mindy Kaling.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Glen Powell (“Hit Man”).
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Lilly Singh.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Tyler James Williams (“Abbott Elementary”).
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Matty Matheson (“The Bear”).
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Maren Morris (“The Wild Robot”).
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
David Zayas and Liza Colon-Zayas (“The Bear”).
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Jonathan Van Ness (“Queer Eye”).
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Leonie Benesch (“September 5”).
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Clarence Maclin (“Sing Sing”).
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Abby Elliott (“The Bear”).
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
The Girl with the Needle, 2024.
Directed by Magnus von Horn
Starring Vic Carmen Sonne, Trine Dyrholm, Besir Zeciri, Ari Alexander, Per Thiim Thim, Joachim Fjelstrup, Ava Knox Martin
SYNOPSIS:
Copenhagen 1919: A young worker finds herself unemployed and pregnant. She meets Dagmar, who runs an underground adoption agency. A strong connection grows but her world shatters when she stumbles on the shocking truth behind her work.
A fairytale retelling of one of Denmark’s most shocking crime cases, The Girl with the Needle blends dreamlike expressionism with an earthly realism that conveys emotional intensity at its most raw.
The film traces the terrible experiences of Karoline (a fantastic Vic Carmen Sonne), an unemployed, single, pregnant woman in post-World War One Denmark. Her husband went missing during the war and she has had no word. With her emotional and mental fragility already stretched to the point of breaking, she finds herself without a job. An unhappy tryst with a manipulative and emotionally immature man leaves her pregnant with no support and little hope of improving her situation.
Into this bleak environment steps a beacon of hope in the shape of Dagmar (Trine Dyrholm), a charming woman who organises an underground adoption agency that helps mothers in trouble find foster homes for children who are either unwanted or unable to be taken care of.
Karoline and Dagmar form a strong bond, and the young mother takes on the role as a wet-nurse at the agency. However, all is not what it seems. Beneath her charismatic veneer, Dagmar holds a horrifying secret. When Karoline stumbles upon this secret, her entire world, and that of Copenhagen society as a whole, is completely turned upside down.
Things are complicated even further when a disfigured man claiming to be Karoline’s lost husband shows up on the streets looking for his wife.
This element delves deep into the stylistic inspiration for the look of this gripping and grim tale. The soldier has had half of his face destroyed and has been given a mask to wear that conjures up ideas of opera phantoms and classical villains. As it is, the man is kind and considerate, in stark contrast to the handsome rich young character whom Karoline had a brief dalliance with. The wounded soldier is forced to join a travelling circus as a living exhibit, and Karoline out of sheer desperation takes a needle to herself in a public bathhouse in attempted termination.
It is here that she meets Dagmar and from there, the story becomes even more horrible. Based on a true story and embellished with nightmarish but wholly believable touches, The Girl With the Needle is an immersive and uncomfortable viewing experience. Scenes are artistically framed, and the whole production is touched with morbid curiosity and fear-fueled adrenaline. Both leads are excellent in their respective roles with the fictionalised character of Karoline given personality and furious life by Carmen Sonne.
The backstory of the true character of Dagmar is necessarily kept out of the script, meaning that Dyrholm must subtly bring out the ambiguities and strangeness of her spirit in subtle and skilled ways. She succeeds brilliantly, and thanks to it, the film takes on a haunting and monstrous quality that lingers on long after the credits roll.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert W Monk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=embed/playlist
World Wrestling Entertainment, better known as WWE, has survived scandal, controversy and seismic shifts in the media business. Next week, the pro wrestling franchise enters yet another new arena: Netflix.
Starting Monday at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, WWE’s popular weekly wrestling program “Raw” will stream exclusively on the streaming giant in the U.S., marking the first time in more than 30 years that it will not broadcast on linear TV.
For Netflix, it’s the latest in a series of moves to grow the streamer’s live TV business in an effort to increase viewership, subscribers and advertising dollars. For WWE, it’s a chance to gain a massive global audience.
WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque, himself a former pro wrestler, said the move to Netflix — with its 283 million global subscribers — is a “game changer” for the franchise.
“The reach and how much that can expand our base … when you look at shows they do and the freedom that they have within that, it is a game changer for us,” Levesque said at a media event last month in Hollywood. “This, at the end of it, is going to be called the Netflix era, because that’s where the big change is.”
First launched in 1993 on cable TV’s USA Network, “Raw” led to boom periods for the genre, said David Meltzer, a wrestling historian, the editor and publisher of Wrestling Observer Newsletter and longtime chronicler of the WWE.
“Raw” is known for promoting the careers of prominent wrestlers like the Rock (Dwayne Johnson), Triple H and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin who launched to fame during the “Attitude Era,” which ran from the late ‘90s to early 2000s. Some of the biggest stars, such as Johnson and John Cena, found success outside of the ring in movies and TV.
Meltzer called the deal with Netflix the “next evolution” for WWE, and an important step as viewers — particularly younger audiences — have migrated from traditional television channels to streaming.
“With the decline in TV, it’s probably good to have eggs in the cable and streaming baskets,” he said. “They reach somewhat different audiences, there are people who don’t have Netflix and have USA Network, so it covers all the bases.”
The 10-year agreement with Netflix is valued at more than $5 billion, according to a regulatory filing. After five years, Netflix has the option to exit or extend the deal for another 10 years, according to the deal’s terms. Netflix has the exclusive rights to “Raw” in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Latin America and will also be able to stream the show globally.
In 2023, WWE said it had signed a five-year broadcast rights deal for its other big weekly telecast, “SmackDown,” to air on the USA Network after its contract with Fox expired. Under the Netflix deal, the streamer will also be the home for other WWE programs and specials outside of the U.S. such as “SmackDown,” “NXT,” “WrestleMania,” “SummerSlam” and “Royal Rumble.”
“What it means is there’s going to be a lot more eyeballs on WWE than there ever were in the past on a global basis,” said Brandon Ross, an analyst at New York-based research firm LightShed Partners.
Ross said putting “Raw” on Netflix provides stability in the streaming era and could spur more fandom and allow WWE to make more money from touring and sponsorships.
Netflix executives said they were attracted by WWE’s loyal, multigenerational audience. “Raw” also adds to Netflix’s live offerings, which have included NFL games, boxing matches and comedy specials that can draw massive viewership and attract advertisers.
The move to Netflix is the latest in a string of changes for WWE in recent years.
In September 2023, talent agency owner Endeavor acquired the WWE and merged it with mixed martial arts league Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC, creating a $21.4-billion fighting sports and entertainment powerhouse, TKO Group Holdings.
Publicly traded TKO is led by Endeavor chief Ari Emanuel, while UFC’s president Dana White was named its chief executive. Wrestling impresario Vince McMahon, WWE’s former CEO, was tapped to serve as TKO’s executive chairman.
McMahon, who was credited with much of WWE’s success, stepped down from the role in January 2024, one day after a former WWE employee, Janel Grant, sued the company, McMahon and former head of talent relations John Laurinaitis, alleging sexual assault, trafficking and emotional abuse. Grant claimed that McMahon agreed to pay her $3 million in exchange for her silence.
At the time of Grant’s suit, a spokesperson for McMahon said in a statement to The Times that Grant’s lawsuit was “replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and a vindictive distortion of the truth.”
TKO has said that McMahon is no longer involved in the company.
McMahon had previously stepped down as WWE’s CEO in June 2022 following revelations that he paid millions in hush money to multiple women between 2006 and 2022 to silence allegations of sexual misconduct.
A WWE board investigation found that McMahon made at least $14.6 million in payments for “alleged misconduct,” according to regulatory filings. McMahon denied the claims of sexual misconduct. He returned to the company’s board in early 2023 as it explored strategic alternatives. (Linda McMahon, Vince’s estranged wife, is now President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Education secretary).
Despite controversy, WWE has endured and continues to bring in money. Last year, WWE’s revenue hit $1.3 billion, up 3%, according to the company’s 2023 annual report. TKO’s stock has risen 43% since it went public. Executives are counting on the Netflix deal to continue the momentum.
WWE’s President Nick Khan said a series of steps took place to enable the Netflix deal to happen, including Netflix’s Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria, who was promoted to the role in 2023.
Bajaria called this a “full-circle moment” for her. When her family moved from London to L.A. when she was a young girl, she would watch WWF (or World Wrestling Federation, the organization’s earlier name) with her grandfather, who loved Andre the Giant.
So when TKO executives approached her about a year and half ago about WWE, she was interested.
“First and foremost, as a fan, all those early memories came flooding back,” Bajaria said at a media event last month. “The more I learned about the business of wrestling, the more I felt like this could actually work.”
“Raw” could deliver a significant audience for Netflix. The series averages more than 1.7 million viewers in the U.S. on a weekly basis, according to LightShed Partners. The show has more than 1,600 episodes and has drawn celebrities like Bad Bunny to participate in matches.
“In the WWE, you really have one of the most enduring and resilient programs out there,” said Brandon Riegg, Netflix’s vice president of nonfiction series and sports, at the media event. “I think it fits in with a lot of the programming that we do, and it also expands the audience that maybe we don’t have as much of an offering for right now.”
When it launches on Netflix, WWE “Raw” will still be a family-friendly, multigenerational program, Khan said. He said Netflix’s international reach was a big draw. “We can’t just be an American company, piping out American content, hoping that people will show up and tune in,” Khan said. “We have to be boots on the ground.”
WWE star Drew McIntyre said “Raw” going to Netflix could boost the careers of top pro wrestlers.
“Our product is so gigantic … but I’m kind of curious to see how much it’s going to creep up in countries like America specifically, and just where you’re going to start to see WWE superstars popping up, maybe on other Netflix shows,” McIntyre said in an interview.
“I got a sneaking suspicion that my personal life outside my house is over,” he added. “But we’ll see, which is fine — just as long as wrestling gets as big as possible.”
Netflix delved into launching live events on its streaming service last year, first with a Chris Rock comedy special. Since then, it has livestreamed sports tournaments, a hot dog eating competition, Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Tom Brady roast and NFL games. The football games, which streamed on Christmas Day, drew an average of more than 30 million global viewers.
Netflix drew criticism last month for buffering issues during its boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson. The streamer said it worked quickly to stabilize the viewing for the majority of its subscribers during the boxing event. The Tyson versus Paul match drew 65 million concurrent streams. Since then, Netflix has improved its systems to better handle live events.
When Netflix executives discussed the issue last month at a media event, Levesque said it didn’t bother him.
“I’ll just say, if it blinks a couple of times and we do 60 million, I’m good with that,” Levesque quipped.
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