2 Best Movies to Watch From Historias Cinematográficas

1. The Official Story, 1985

Most people aspire to have families, deciding to form their own by marrying, bearing children, and if fertility makes that impossible, adopting one. The Official Story is centered on upper middle class Alicia, who’s already made the idyllic family life, with the last piece completed with her adoption of Gaby, but there are secrets held from her, or rather, there are realities that she chose not to listen to because of the painful implications. Writer-director Luis Puenzo juxtaposes the family secret to the violent ones the Argentine junta government kept from its citizens. It's not a subtle comparison– Puenzo makes it obvious– but it's an effective one, as Alicia has to reckon with the fact that she lies in bed with a stranger, as Argentina has to reckon with the remaining junta members and enablers.Genre: Drama, History
Actor: Analia Castro, Andrea Tenuta, Aníbal Morixe, Augusto Larreta, Carlos Weber, Chela Ruíz, Chela Ruiz, Chunchuna Villafañe, Chunchuna Villafane, Fabián Rendo, Guillermo Battaglia, Héctor Alterio, Héctor Alterio, Horacio Erman, Hugo Arana, Jorge Chernov, Jorge Petraglia, Lidia Catalano, María Luisa Robledo, Marcos Woinsky, Maria Luisa Robledo, Norma Aleandro, Oscar Ferrigno Jr., Pablo Rago, Patricio Contreras, Paula Canals, Tony Middleton
Director: Luis Puenzo
Rating: Not Rated, NR

2. XXY, 2007

Some bigots like to equate genitals to one’s gender and sexual orientation, but in practice, it’s not always a straightforward equation, especially for the rare, but natural, occasion when people are born with both male and female sex organs. XXY isn’t the first film to discuss the intersex experience, but it’s one of the first features that managed to be critically acclaimed. Unlike some of its predecessors, XXY is much more grounded, taking place in the modern era, and is mostly centered on Alex’s gender and sexual exploration. The film isn’t a perfect depiction– at the time, intersex wasn’t even the most common term, and sex-reassignment surgery was often the default action– but there is a lot in the film that dared to question certain ideas, such as having to choose only between a binary. Not many intersex films were created after this, in part due to how rare intersex is, and how broad the term encompasses multiple conditions, but XXY stands out all the more because of it.Genre: Drama
Actor: Ailín Salas, Carolina Peleritti, Carolina Pelleritti, César Troncoso, Germán Palacios, Guillermo Angelelli, Inés Efron, Lucía Puenzo, Lucas Escariz, Lucía Puenzo, Luciano Nóbile, Martín Piroyansky, Ricardo Darín, Valeria Bertuccelli
Director: Lucía Puenzo
Rating: Not Rated