Paris Saint-Germain star Lionel Messi took to social media on Monday to join his compatriots' campaign for the film Argentina, 1985 to win the Oscar for best international feature film on March 12.
"What a great film, '1985,' with Ricardo Darín and nominated for an Oscar. Let's go for the third," Messi wrote on his Instagram story about the film, which chronicles the trial of the military leaders of Argentina's last dictatorship (1976-1983) for their crimes against humanity.
The film is competing for the Oscar from the US Academy of Motion Picture Awards with Germany's All Quiet on the Western Front, Poland's Eo, Belgium's Close and Ireland's The Quiet Girl.
An Oscar for best international film would make the movie the third winner for local cinema, as Messi wrote, after La Historia Oficial ("The Official Story") (1985) and El secreto de sus ojos (2009). Fitting, as Argentina also won their third World Cup in Qatar 2022.
The captain of the last world champion accompanied the caption about Santiago Mitre's new film with a still from the movie featuring Darín in his role as Julio Strassera, the prosecutor who accused the military junta in court 37 years ago.
Messi was born in 1987, two years after the trial whose move to the cinema has now mobilised new generations like Messi's to review the atrocities committed by the military dictatorship and the historical importance of that trial under the presidency of Raúl Alfonsín (1983-1989).
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the restoration of democracy in Argentina, when UCR-Radical social democrat Alfonsín took office on December 10, 1983.
The film reflects the plea of prosecutor Strassera before the civilian judges in the memorable ending: "I want to use a phrase that does not belong to me, because it belongs to the entire Argentinean people. Judges: Nunca más."
–– TIMES/AFP
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