And the moral of the tale is–once a fascist always a fascist.

The film The Lost Steps (Los Pasos Perdidos) from director Manane Rodriguez takes a long hard look at how the fate of one woman is connected to the disappearance of thousands of Argentineans in the 1970s-1980s. During this period, a military junta ruled in Argentina, and thousands of so-called ’subversives’ disappeared without trace. These people who became known collectively as The Disappeared were tortured and murdered by their captors. Although the Argentinean government announced a General Amnesty in 1990, this did not extend to the children of The Disappeared–children of ’subversives’ who were stolen and raised–often by influential families.

In The Lost Steps Monica (Irene Visedo) is the only child of doting parents Ernesto Erigaray (Luis Brandoni) and Ines Laroche (Concha Velasco). Monica’s parents, who relocated to Spain from Argentina, approve of her long-term boyfriend, Luis (Jesus Blanco), and she enjoys a caring loving relationship with her parents. But there are some discordant notes in this scenario–her parents keep a close eye on her–perhaps a little too close. Her father has employed someone to follow her around, and Monica finds this irksome. There are vague mentions made that an Argentinean writer, Bruno Leardi (Frederico Luppi), whose son and daughter-in-law “disappeared”, believes that Monica is his long-lost granddaughter, and a court case to determine Monica’s parentage looms on the horizon. To top it off, Monica’s mother nurses alcohol morning, noon, and night, and she seems nervous….

The Lost Steps begins slowly and then builds to its powerful and emotional ending. One of the film’s themes is identity, and Monica’s identity is at stake and in question, so her reaction to a threat against her identity becomes a major issue. I found Monica’s state of denial a bit implausible, and thought at least a degree of curiosity would make more sense. I watched the film with several people who disagreed, and they found Monica’s denial the most interesting element of the film. After digging around on the internet, I discovered that many children of The Disappeared didn’t want to know their real parentage, so I stand corrected. While The Lost Steps is a political film, the emphasis on the individual creates a much more intimate tale. In Spanish with subtitles. If you are interested in watching more on the subject, I highly recommend the film The Official Story.