"Our Disappeared" Review - Written by Anthony T

Nuestrod Desaparecidos (Our Disappeared)
Year: 2009
Director: Juan Mandelbaum
Studio: Geovision
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 99 Mins.
Official Website: http://www.ourdisappeared.com/





"Nuestrod Desaparecidos (Our Disappeared)” is a film that I caught recently at the 2009 Rhode Island International Film Festival. It’s a film that I originally didn’t plan on reviewing, but this is a documentary that is so powerful that I wanted to share my thoughts on it, before it’s upcoming showing on PBS’s Independent Lens on September 21st.

The film is about director Juan Mandelbaum’s search to find out what happened to his friends and loved ones that were caught up in the vise of the military and suddenly vanished during the period of 1976 –1983, where Argentina was ruled by a military dictatorship. He also goes there to revisit some of the dreams that he and his long lost girlfriend (who is one of the people that went missing) shared that transformed Argentina and makes his examine every choice that he’s made. He tells this story through rare archival footage, television interviews, and stories that are told from parents, friends, and other relatives of the disappeared.

Usually when I write my reviews for the films here on this site, I would have something going on in the background after watching a film, whether it would be music or the television. I would have something to do while writing a review or waiting for the bus home. It was not the case here. This film generated such a response of sadness that’s all I could think about for a couple of hours. The reason for that, this documentary was one of those films that you still have feeling for, long after seeing it for the very first time.

“Our Disappeared” is a documentary that will leave speechless and in tears. Director Juan Mandelbaum does a very good job making this film very moving and shocking. One of the things that he does well, he makes documentary about two things, his personal journey to find out what happened to his former friends, who mysteriously disappeared and focus on the events that led up to their disappearances. I liked how Mandelbaum takes the direct approach and visits each of the family members of his friends. You get a very good perspective about each of the disappeared that he highlights in this film, by their descendants. Mandelbaum let them go into detail about their loved one, so that the viewer is allowed to connect with that person. It’s something that is needed for a documentary, like this to work. Some of stories were just so sad to listen to, because they were just normal people who did nothing wrong. It made me generate this sad emotion response that I rarely have while watching a film.

He also goes into the history of these events in great detail, from the era in which Peron was in power to the period where these atrocities were being committed. Some of the detail was just horrifying to listen to. It generated a response, which most documentaries usually don’t deliver on. It really made me sad. What even made it more shocking was for a time; no one did anything about it, including the US government during the Gerald Ford years. It brought a sad emotional response that I never thought a documentary would ever generate, as it left me feeling sad for these people long after the film ended.

This is one of those documentaries that I want people to check out. There are two ways that you can check this film out. You purchase the DVD on the film’s official webpage at http://www.ourdisapeared.com or it will be on PBS’s Independent Lens on September 21st. Check your local PBS station for listings.

“Nuestrod Desaparecidos (Our Disappeared)" is a documentary that will leave you in tears, long after the film has ended.

Review Rating: Five Stars