A Wall of Silence
Encyclopedia
A Wall of Silence is a 1993 Argentine
Cinema of Argentina
The cinema of Argentina has a tradition dating back to the late nineteenth century, and continues to play a role in the culture of Argentina....

 drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...

 starring Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...

. The film concerns a turbulent period in Argentine history, the National Reorganization Process
National Reorganization Process
The National Reorganization Process was the name used by its leaders for the military government that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. In Argentina it is often known simply as la última junta militar or la última dictadura , because several of them existed throughout its history.The Argentine...

 as well as the responsibility of artists in engaging and interpreting human stories from this period. It was directed by Lita Stantic
Lita Stantic
Élida Stantic , and more commonly known and credited as Lita Stantic, is an Argentine cinema producer, screenplay writer, and director....

 and released theatrically in Argentina on 10 June 1993. It was also screened later that year at the Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...

. It was released as Black Flowers in some English territories.

Plot

Kate (Redgrave) is a British film director on location in Argentina that traces the story of Silvia (Medina). Silvia has a dark past, stemming from the turbulent time when she endured her husband's forced disappearance
Forced disappearance
In international human rights law, a forced disappearance occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the...

 during the Dirty War
Dirty War
The Dirty War was a period of state-sponsored violence in Argentina from 1976 until 1983. Victims of the violence included several thousand left-wing activists, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, Peronist guerrillas and alleged sympathizers, either proved or suspected...

. Silvia wants to move on with her life and concentrate on her family. But she is eventually persuaded into reliving her painful past.

Cast

  • Vanessa Redgrave
    Vanessa Redgrave
    Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...

     as Kate Benson
  • Ofelia Medina
    Ofelia Medina
    Ofelia Medina is a Mexican actress, singer and screenwriter of Mexican films. She was married to film director Alex Philips Jr. and actor Pedro Armendáriz Jr..-Biography:...

     as Silvia
  • Lautaro Murúa
    Lautaro Murúa
    Lautaro Murúa was a Chilean-born Argentine actor, film director, and screenwriter. He is one of the best known actors in the Cinema of Argentina....

     as Bruno
  • Lorenzo Quinteros
    Lorenzo Quinteros
    Lorenzo Quinteros is an Argentine cinema and theatre actor.Born in Córdoba Province, Quinteros has appeared in many films since his debut in Alianza para el progreso in 1971...

  • Soledad Villamil
    Soledad Villamil
    Soledad Villamil is an Argentine film and television actress and singer.-Filmography :* El secreto de sus ojos The Secret in Their Eyes* No sos vos, soy yo It's Not You, It's Me...

     as Ana-Laura
  • André Mélançon
  • Julio Chávez
    Julio Chávez
    Julio Chávez is a well-known Argentine film and television actor.He was born Julio Hirsch in Buenos Aires, and received his first film role in 1973...

     as Julio-Patricio

Production

Stantic had the idea for the film as early as 1986 after an experience of working with the British actress, Julie Christie
Julie Christie
Julie Frances Christie is a British actress. Born in British India to English parents, at the age of six Christie moved to England, where she attended boarding school....

 on Miss Mary
Miss Mary
Miss Mary is a 1986 drama film directed by María Luisa Bemberg and starring Julie Christie, Nacha Guevara and Eduardo Pavlovsky. It was an Argentine-American co-production shot on location in Argentina....

. Christie revealed to Stantic her personal experiences of having set up her life in Argentina with the intention of discovering the recent past.

It was subsequenly filmed in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

 in 1992. It is a co-production between Argentina's Aleph Producciones
Aleph Producciones
-Filmography:* Adolescente, sucre d'amour * Amico arabo, L * Un Muro de silencio * Of Love and Shadows * Amigomío * Patrón * Kanya Ya Ma Kan, Beyrouth * Evita...

, Britain's Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

's Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía (IMCINE).

Reception

The film was generally well-received, proving to be a success with Argentine film critics. Although this was a period when Argentine film audiences were more enthralled with viewing politics through the gaze of melodrama and rock music. Redgrave was praised for her performance, especially for the striking similarities betweens her character and her real-life persona as supporter of sometimes unpopular minority causes. It currently holds a rating of 8.2/10 amongst IMDB reviewers.
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