MovieChat Forums > Imagining Argentina (2004) Discussion > At some point, did anyone hope...

At some point, did anyone hope...

posted 17 years ago by C.S.Wood
10 replies | jump to latest

That after Banderas got done playing his guitar, he'd open his guitar case to reveal an arsenal of weapons, load up, and go to the prison that was holding his wife and daughter and the other missing people and start shooting all the guards and rescue everybody?

Not that the movie was terrible or anything, it was just hard to see Banderas just sit back and do nothing while his wife and daughter are being repeatedly tortured and raped.

"Action is how men express romance on film." --Kurt Wimmer

[–] cyborg911 17 years ago

lol i got tht feeling too... but right b4 in the car scene wen he had this rifle. i thought he wud hve shot the general n his daughter for revenge.. nyway him kicking sum serious butt wud hve been a much better sight than seeing him as a victim.

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[–] pywalkye2 17 years ago

The writer made a terrible mistake, no body react in such a way unless he had water instead of blood. Any way, is a very particular reaction of a person who knows (in some way) that his wife and daughter are being tortured and rape. It is almost unbelievable that a Latinamerican man react in such a way, they are usually very impulsives and explosives. As a matter of fact I do not like the way this movie tell the story of the military regimes and the nightmares and horrors they produced, not only in Argentina, but in other countrys too. Real life was worst... I rather recommend "Z" or "Missing" of the Director Costa Gavras or "La noche de los lapices" to have a better closer and realistic view of the theme.

[–] Miki262 17 years ago

If I wanted to see Antonio smash open his guitar and reveal a MG-42 I would have watched Desperado. However I did have a very good laugh as I can imagine it happening. What can I say, I have a very overactive imagination.

That being said, in this movie I would have been really peeved if he went and shot the General. Yes, I can see the rationalisation but then equally I think Carlos chosing not to shoot him fits in with his character. Carlos does want revenge but he also is still afraid deep down of what will happen to him. I think even though you know he wants to see Cecilia and Theresa he knows there are others who depend on him and his talent is of no use, or his life is no use if he is imprisoned.

Or equally, perhaps the best revenge is just to survive. To live through hell and then when democracy is restored so to speak, his voice and his memories will ensure those who committed these crimes, although legally excused (don't even get me started on that) prove you can't silence a witness nor can you completely silence dissent.

Just trying to make some sense...

[–] lilili_always 17 years ago

How can you genralized an entire sub.continente? Surely Argentinian are not that impulsive! LoL BELIEVE ME....

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] urik 16 years ago

I don't think like you.
You have tons of examples that show that in fact, people can be very passive.
What about the holocaust? Germans would pick some people, and just make them lay down and shoot them one after the other in the head. And they did nothing to try to escape or attack the soldier.
And don't forget that stuff like that DID happen in Argentina. People did see their family get abducted, and couldn't do anything about it.

[–] techmanmac 15 years ago

I feel it was the right decision for him to make, that is, not kill the general or his daughter or both. What would have happened if he had? He would certainly have been captured, tortured and killed himself. Then, his daughter and wife would have both been killed for sure (I know the daughter was killed anyway) but the wife lived to tell about it. Also, he would have reduced himself to their level if he had killed them. Just my thoughts on why he didn't do that.

[–] C.S.Wood 15 years ago

I feel it was the right decision for him to make, that is, not kill the general or his daughter or both. What would have happened if he had? He would certainly have been captured, tortured and killed himself. Then, his daughter and wife would have both been killed for sure (I know the daughter was killed anyway) but the wife lived to tell about it. Also, he would have reduced himself to their level if he had killed them. Just my thoughts on why he didn't do that.

I know, you're right, but still I'm a big fan of movies where the guy shoots everybody up in order to save his wife/girlfriend/son/daughter (Taken comes to mind ).

When in doubt, run like hell!

[–] antiglobe 13 years ago

Probably they did not include retaliatory attacks against the junta personnel because:

1.) something like this never happened in reality and this movie supposed to be based on real events

2.) homicide is a tough job for the inexperienced (having experience in killing animals helps a bit in this regard) and the Banderas character was obviously not a murder

[–] Vforvendetta200 13 years ago

This movie is based on the book of the same name by Lawrence Thornton, in the book Carlos also fails to carry out the assassination because he realizes that the only reason his wife has been kept alive for so long is because of him, because the generals perceive him as a bigger threat than any other dissenter.

Instead of abducting him like they do to everyone else (Too many people know what he does, if he were to disappear he would become a martyr), they want to take everything and everyone he loves (his family, friends, the Children's Theater etc.), watch him crumble down and disappoint everyone who still believes in him. Basically the want him to do stupid things (like the one he almost did)and pretend they're not concern with him, so that he goes away and make his followers think he's a fraud.

He decides the best way to fight the generals is not through assassination (he would become a terrorist and they would be justified to arrest him, even use him as an example of the type of "criminals" they abduct) but to keep telling his stories, giving hope to those who need it, and show the generals that they won't be able to erase all those who disagree with them, no matter how many people they abduct. His stories keep the memories ("The Names") of those who disappeared alive.

"Beat on the brat, Beat on the brat, with a baseball bat Oh yeah"