Release Details

Title: Imagining Argentina

Release Date: 10/11/2005

Label/Distributor: Universal Studios

Rating: R (Restricted)

Retail Price: $29.98

Genre: Drama

Cast: Antonio Banderas, Emma Thompson, Rubén Blades

Director: Christopher Hampton

Running Time: 108

DVD Video Options: Color, Widescreen, Dolby

DVD Audio Options: English, Dubbed; Spanish, Subtitled; French, Subtitled; Spanish, Dubbed

UPC Code: 025192588525

Antonio Banderas and Academy Award winner Emma Thompson star in this gripping political thriller from Academy Award-winning director Christopher Hampton. Carlos Rueda (Banderas) is the director of a children’s theater in Buenos Aires, a city haunted by the disappearance of thousands who have spoken up against the dictator in power. When his wife, Cecilia (Thompson), disappears after writing a controversial article, Carlos discovers he has the power to look into the faces of those seeking the missing and see the fate of the people they love. But no matter how desperately he searches for his own wife, he always finds himself one step behind. Pushed to the limits of survival, it’s up to Cecilia to find her way to Carlos in a journey filled with danger, horror and suspense.


Tipsheet Reviews
Drama

Imagining Argentina

By Irv Slifkin 8/29/2005

Color, R (mature themes, language, violence), 108 min., DVD only $29.98

DVD: no extras

Street: Oct. 11, Prebook: Sept. 13

First Run: L, June 2004, <$1 mil.

Cast: Antonio Banderas (Once Upon a Time in Mexico), Emma Thompson (TV's Angels in America), Ruben Blades (The Assassination Tango), Claire Bloom (Wrestling With Alligators), John Wood (Chocolat)

Director: Christopher Hampton

UNIVERSAL

Story Line: Argentina, 1977: After his journalist wife (Thompson) is abducted by agents of the Argentinian government during the late '70s, a theater director (Banderas) uses his psychic powers to see the past and the future, which he hopes will help locate her and others who have disappeared.

Bottom Line: A political drama a la Missing boosted by the accoutrements of a paranormal thriller, such as The Dead Zone, this unusual, sporadically successful hybrid saw limited action in theaters stateside despite its high-profile cast. Lack of widespread acclaim for the effort—directed by Oscar-winning Dangerous Liaisons scripter Hampton—might have something to do with its attempt to mix lovers of psychic shockers with fans of heady dramas. Thus, the film presents a marketing challenge to retailers, who might decide to pitch the title to both types of clientele but should make sure to let them know it's not a typical genre piece.

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