With the support of the Argentine National Film Board
This is a fictional film based on real events.
World Cup Final Game Buenos Aires, 1978
Captive
Their Excellencies...
the commanders of the Armed Forces...
members of the Military Junta.
Your Excellency, Mr. President, is giving the cup to...
the team Captain, Daniel Passarella.
The 11th Soccer Cup of the International Federation of Soccer, 1978.
The Outskirts of Buenos Aires, 1994
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday Cristina...
Happy birthday to you!
Excuse me.
Excuse me. Miss?
I have an appointment for a blood test.
Your name?
Cristina Quadri... my daughter
Yes. Please take a seat. They'll call you in a minute.
Was there a problem with the tests?
I don't know. Who's her doctor?
- Doctor Levito - Then you'll have to ask him.
- Is he in? - I'll check. Please take a seat.
Mrs. Quadri, who called you about this appointment?
A nurse... Julia.
I'll tell her.
Dr. Levito is out on an emergency, but Julia left a message saying...
this is just a follow-up of her appendectomy.
Mom, you scared me!
I knocked. Didn't you hear me?
I was thinking... about the Virgin Mary.
About the Miracle, of Jesus.
That he was conceived by the Divine Will of the Holy Spirit.
Do you believe it?
- Of course. - Why?
It's a matter of faith.
The rest of us... that's a different story.
Again, fooling with that scar...
How was I born? By caesarian?
No.
How did it feel carrying me?
Why are you asking me this now?
It must be hard carrying a baby inside of you.
It's much harder when that baby grows up and runs around on her own.
It doesn't hurt that much.
I'm glad.
- Good night. - Good night.
...therefore it is up to the President to sign or veto a bill.
This gives him almost unrestricted power to control...
what's going to become law or be returned to Congress for review.
Now, what happens if the President vetoes a bill?
Yes.
The Constitution says that the veto of a bill by a President...
may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of the Congress.
What happens then?
The bill becomes a law.
DIMWITTED DEVIL
But there are exceptions.
See if you remember them.
The President may sign a bill into law for special circumstances...
without any participation from Congress.
For instance...
The Amnesty.
The Presidential Pardon is one...
The Amnesty is in reality a Presidential Pardon of sorts.
You said that yourself. Unrestricted power, right?
Then why does the Congress exist?
We are talking about exceptions to the rule.
In reality, the Presidential Pardon is...
indicated in the Constitution itself.
- Then, I'd like... - So, if he wants can throw away...
all the evidence collected for years against those assassins.
Yes, he can do tha for anybody he wants...
whether we like it or not.
You know well enough...
Those dictators suspended the Constitution and now, they are protected by it.
It's got nothing to do with protecting or not protecting.
I'm trying to explain to you the powers given to the President...
by the Constitution.
To the President... or to a tyrant?
The truth is that those people were found guilty in a court of law. Guilty.
And the President doesn't have the right to ignore it.
Why don't you organize a lobby...
go to Congress...
and get an Amendment to nullify the Presidential Amnesty.
Who are you kidding?
The President and all those bastard politicians are a bunch...
of sold out assholes.
Miss Arguedas, is that language proper for my class?
Leave immediately. I'll see you in the principal's office.
- Please turn to page... - Hypocrite.
...page 159.
Come in.
You wrote that...
I recognize the handwriting.
I heard Angelica's looking for her panties!
- Do you think she was expelled? - No doubt.
That little bitch got what was coming to her.
She always tried to get everyone's attention.
Why do you think she always contradicted the teachers?
To me, that's just her.
You know her parents are leftist radicals.
Angelica's parents?
Didn't her father die in the Malvinas War?
What Malvinas War?
They used to kill people with bombs. Even priests.
Who told you that?
It's true. Everyone knows it.
Why would they want to kill priests?
What do you mean, "why?"
Because they're communists.
So they're disappeared.
What do you mean disappeared? Those are all lies.
They ran away. They left the country.
But that was a long time ago, during the war.
You mean the Malvinas?
Again with the Malvinas, dope.
The war against the communists.
Your parents never told you anything?
This coup d'état brought on by the Government resulted in...
the insurrection that broke out among the Parisian population July 27th...
- Mom? - What are you doing up this late?
- I can't study - Cristina! Still up!
- You should be sleeping by now. - Come, come hug your godfather.
- I was studying. - She was studying.
Studying at this hour?
- We aren't making too much noise are we? - You should be in bed...
- Tomorrow we have an exam, mom. - Tomorrow?
Susana didn't tell us anything.
She's going to slide by like she always does.
The one who deserves the best grades... is you.
Go back to your studies.
My goodness...
It seems like only yesterday I could lift her up like a puppet.
Now she's the one who could lift me up.
Am I wrong?
Don't worry. We'll be very quiet.
Go to bed now.
Sister Teresa.
Miss Quadri, Mother Superior would like to see you.
- Me? - Yes.
- Now? - Immediately.
- All right, Sister Teresa. - Please bring all your belongings.
Wait here, please.
Yes?
Mother Superior, Miss Quadri is here.
- Let her in, Sister. - All right. Please, come in.
- Good morning, Miss Quadri. - Good morning, Mother.
Please, sit down.
Dr. Gomez is an Assistant District Attorney...
and Ms. Bernstein, a psychologist.
They were sent by a judge, Dr. Barrenechea.
They brought a judicial order.
Please.
Why does a judge want to see me?
You will have to ask him yourself.
- Mother, did you talk to my parents? - No, my dear.
Mother, I'm not allowed to leave school without their permission.
I understand perfectly, but I have spoken personally with Dr. Barrenechea...
and I trust it is prudent to follow this course of action.
- But, why? Did I do something wrong? - No nothing, child.
Absolutely nothing.
Dr. Barrenechea will explain everything.
- I want to talk to my parents first. - You will be allowed to talk to the...
but you must see Dr. Barrenechea first.
If I may...
I completely understand your confusion.
You don't even know us. He's Horacio, I'm Liliana.
The judge, Miguel Barrenechea, asked us to go with you to his office...
because he has something very important to tell you.
What does he want to tell me?
Look, the best thing is that we go to his office, he'll tell you...
and you can ask him all the questions you want.
So, I'll go with these people and...
They'll bring me back to school?
They will take you to see Dr. Barrenechea and he'll explain everything to you.
Sister Elsa will accompany you.
We'll be right with you.
MIGU EL BARRENECH EA - FEDERAL JU DGE
Cristina, please. Wait here, Sister.
Hello. I'm Miguel Barrenechea...
a federal judge.
Please, sit down.
Do you want something to drink?
Do you have your I.D. With you?
May I see it please?
- Do my parents know I'm here? - No.
- Why not? - I'll explain to you in a minute. I promise.
You are young...
but not a child anymore.
I'm confident it's time you learned the truth.
Several studies were done...
and the results...
show conclusively...
that your real identity and age...
are different than the ones indicated on this document.
Your real name is not the one you have always used.
Your parents are two persons...
whose names you surely won't recognize...
Leticia Dominich and Agustíun Lombardi.
What are you talking about?
Your blood matches the Lombardis' and the Dominichs'.
I don't understand.
My parents never told me about any tests.
Several tests were done.
One here in Argentina
another in the United States...
and another in France.
The three of them have shown the same results.
Your parents...
were two architects kidnapped by security forces during...
the military dictatorship in 1978.
Their families have been searching for them ever since without success...
but they've found you.
You are mistaken.
Believe me, I've been in this courthouse for many years...
and this isn't the first time I've encountered this.
There are many youngsters like you...
who are just now learning the truth.
- Have you told my parents this? - No.
That's exactly the point.
They are not your real parents.
Your case is called appropriation...
because the transfer of your custody was executed without...
your natural parents' permission.
That's why you are justly claimed...
by their relatives.
I want to see my parents.
You will speak to the Quadris soon.
Believe me.
I would not have called you if I wasn't completely certain of what I'm telling you.
I want you to meet someone.
I am your grandmother...
...the mother of your mother.
Cristina, stop! Calm down!
Stop, Cristina!
Mom! Shit!
One ticket, please. Thank you.
OUT OF ORDER
- Hello. - Mom!
Cris...
- Where are you calling from? - The train station.
- Which train station? - Our train station.
Come pick me up. You'll never believe what happened.
- Why aren't you at school? - They took me out of school, Mom.
- Who? - Ajudge.
Ajudge! Ajudge... what judge?
Banechea... something like that and other people I've never met.
They took me to a courthouse. Mother Superior didn't even let me call you.
Mom?
Yeah... I... uh... I don't understand.
- Where are they now? - I don't know, Mom.
- Are you alone? - Yes.
I'm going to pick you up. Just wait for me.
If you see anything wrong, get in there...
...hide... in the ladies waiting room.
Ok, mom. But please, hurry.
I'll be right there.
Dad!
- How are you... is everything ok?
What happened?
I want to go home. And where's Mom?
Let's go home.
She's waiting for us at home.
Mr. Pablo Quadri?
- Who are you? - Officer Diaz. Federal Police.
- Do I know you, Officer? - Are you Mr. Pablo Quadri, sir?
- Yes. - What do you want?
I'm following orders from the court.
The Federal Judge, Dr. Barrenechea, is submitting this order for your detention.
What do you mean, "detention"? What is this?
You can ask the judge, I'm just following his orders.
Cristina Quadri?
Yes, she's my daughter.
You and the young lady will have to come with me to his office.
You are speaking with a retired captain of the Federal Police.
I know, sir.
Dad, please.
Who is your superior?
Sir, this an order from a Federal Judge.
What the hell does this guy want?
...declares that on March 20th 1979 in Lanus Central Hospital a girl was born...
whose existence was verified by Dr. Fernando Canaro, Obstetrician...
according to the certificate filed under this article number...
whose given name is Maria Cristina Quadri...
her father being Pablo Quadri and her mother Adela L. Barboza de Quadri...
her grandparents... the witnesses...
Dr. Raimondi, I already have a copy of this certificate in my files.
It has been carefully examined.
It appears to be an authentic document.
Everything written here matches the information in the archives.
However...
...the hospital where the young lady was supposedly born doesn't have...
a record of her birth.
All the names of the witnesses are false.
Dr. Fernando Canaro has fled the country and is a fugitive from justice.
The blood tests have proven with 99.98º/o certainty that...
the young lady is the daughter of a disappeared couple whose family...
has pleaded for justice.
This birth certificate is invalid.
She was 15 years old.
Here she is with Agustín...
your dad.
They had just started going out.
We wanted to introduce him to the family, so we had a BBQ at home.
Your grandfather, my husband Beto...
didn't like him at first.
He said that he didn't talk enough, that he was too shy.
I told him he was right, but that he reminded me of someone I knew very well...
because your grandfather was a shy as Agustín...
when he was introduced to me.
They had already chosen the names for the baby.
If it was going to be a boy, Agustín...
and if it was to be a girl... Sofía.
What happened to them?
One day suddenly, they disappeared.
We didn't know anything else about them.
It can't be.
I want to see my parents...
I want to see my parents... this can't be!
Please leave me alone.
And how did you do that?
With witnesses that guaranteed that it was her blood.
It was matched with blood taken from the parents of this missing couple...
and results were conclusive.
I can't believe that you acted behind the back of Cristina's...
legitimate parents.
Dr. Raimondi, the legal medical tests have shown that the Quadris are not...
the legitimate parents of the girl.
What are you saying? We are Cristina's parents.
I had to proceed this way due to the numerous cases of people who have...
ignored judicial orders and fled the country taking those persons...
claimed by other families.
It's happened to me twice, so I didn't want to take any chances this time.
There's no reason for my clients to flee from justice.
Dr. Raimondi, I'm not inside your clients' heads...
I don't know what they would do.
I had to make a determination based exclusively on the evidence.
I'm sorry, Your Honor but this is a circus.
That blood could have been taken from anybody.
Also, the tests were made without the knowledge of her parents...
nor the control of their own witnesses.
I've been on this case for a long time and I've had to proceed...
with a great deal of discretion.
With discretion? You've proceeded illegally.
Doctor, present evidence that your clients are the girl's natural parents.
Until then, she will remain a ward of the State.
Don't even think we're going to leave Cristina here alone.
She won't be left alone, Mrs. Quadri.
She'll be under my care.
The State has makes me responsible for her protection...
if I have evidence that a felony has been committed...
Kidnapping and Appropriation of a Minor.
Where are my parents?
We don't know...
but we're here to help you.
I don't need any help.
I just want to see my parents.
You're going to see Pablo and Adela soon.
Look, we think seeing them would confuse you even more.
Believe me, you'll see them, but not now.
- Why not? - Because It's not the right time.
- Did you send them to jail? - No. They're free.
Then, I'm going to escape again.
You escape, I'll look for you.
If you escape again... I'll look for you again.
This is not a child's game.
I know how you feel, but it's important to understand what's going on here.
The tests are conclusive... I know you'll understand later.
Elisa, your grandmother's been looking for you since the day you were born.
She loves you.
She'll take care of you.
You'll get to know each other.
Please...
...do not give your new address to anyone.
This is my phone number.
At this point in my life, I don't remember who's older:
My Citroen or me.
Your grandfather taught your mother how to drive this car.
Would you like to learn?
There's the church. Can you see it?
And there is the plaza...
...the market...
Your mom, when she got her license...
would always borrow the car...
and I would take advantage of that and send her to get groceries.
Here we are...
Look, this was going to be your bedroom.
Your mother was already pregnant when they designed it.
They were going to share it with three families...
...the same living room, the same kitchen...
...see these windows?
She loved the light, all natural light.
She didn't want curtains, nothing...
As you can see, nothing like me.
I'm very old-fashioned.
Do you want me to show you the house?
I know how you feel.
I also know that for you, now, I'm nobody.
But I want you to know is that this family has been waiting...
many years for this moment.
I want to make a phone call.
All right.
The phone is over here.
You've reached the Quadri family.
If you want to leave a message for Pablo, Adela and Cristina, do so after the beep.
Mom...
Mom, It's me...
Dad...
Hello?
My bedroom.
Your grandfather died 5 years ago...
This is your bedroom.
It belonged to Ana, my younger daughter.
There, in front... was your mother's.
Let's see...
your clothes...
What do you think?
You can change it, if you want... you can change everything here...
...if you want, whichever way you want.
What's your name?
Elisa, but in my family they call me "Nana."
And in my family, they call me "Cristina."
You know...
You are the exact image of your mom.
You have the same voice... identical.
Believe me, I didn't need a blood test to know that you were my granddaughter.
Sofía.
Mom?
Grandma?
Wait here a second. I'll be right back.
Everything's fine.
We'll be waiting for you right here.
If you don't come out in two hours, we'll come get you.
Get anything you need.
They're making me crazy.
Cristina... Sweetie...
I can't believe what's happening.
How are those jerks treating you?
Do you want something to drink?
What can I get you?
You haven't eaten breakfast...
Did you sleep all right?
Don't you want to take a bath?
Is the place dirty? Your hair is dirty.
Did they put a microphone on you?
Did that jerk of a judge conceal a microphone on you?
No.
Those kind of people will do anything to bring you down.
But I don't give a damn. All I care about is you, you and you.
Where are you staying?
- I can't... - Why?
- What do you mean you can't? - I can't tell you...
He says if I tell you, we'll have more problems.
He's the one who created this mess.
He says if you know where I am, you'll look for me and he'll end up...
...sending you to jail. - Is that what he told you?
That piece of garbage doesn't know who he's dealing with.
I don't give a damn if they send me to jail.
Dad, it matters to me if you go to jail.
That wind bag wouldn't dare send me to jail.
Let him rot in hell!
Talk to me about that old woman.
Her name is Elisa.
They say that according to the blood test, she's my grandmother...
...that my parents are some other people...
...that my name is Sofía Lombardi.
They even changed your name, those sons of bitches.
We're appealing with our lawyer to get you back with us...
but we don't know how long it's going to take.
Why don't you get a blood test?
Why do we have to get a blood test?
What do we have to prove? That we love you?
Haven't we been your parents for your entire life?
Yes, but wkhy don't you do the test?
Not a word about this to anyone.
Do you remember this picture?
Yes.
When mom was pregnant with me.
What we're going to tell you, we were going to tell you...
but we were waiting for the right time...
when you became an adult.
When Mom and I got married, we wanted to have children...
but Adela had many problems.
Eventually, she got pregnant...
but not with you...
with another girl.
She was born dead.
A few months later an officer called because they'd found a baby girl...
who had just been born and nobody had claimed her...
Since he knew about our grief...
...we told him we wanted to adopt her.
It was you.
So, he brought you to our house.
We raised you... as our child.
The child we couldn't have.
We wanted you to grow up knowing you had a place in this world.
So, it's true.
I'm not your daughter.
Of course you are. We raised you since the day you were born.
Real daughter.
Your original parents abandoned you.
We're your real parents and we're very proud that we are.
But why I...
Do you know why they abandoned me?
Perhaps, they couldn't or they didn't know how to raise you.
We don't know.
So, who are my parents?
We are.
My real parents.
We don't know. We never met them.
I don't understand why you didn't tell me this before?
Wasn't I old enough?
What did you want...
...to grow up thinking that you were different from your friends?
When did you find me?
March 20, 1979.
My birthday.
We never knew exactly when you were born, so we chose that day as your birthday...
How big was I when they found me?
You were just a few days old.
Where did they find me?
We don't know for sure.
They told us at a train station... in an abandoned train.
In an abandoned train?
We were told... we don't know.
Which station?
We never wanted to find out.
After all we had gone through...
we didn't want to know.
So, it's true that they existed.
You don't know anything about them?
Cristy, we didn't have the slightest idea who these people were.
Perhaps, the Lombardis left me.
How would we know?
How would you know they're NOT the ones if you never saw them?
I don't know. They could have made up a story.
What for?
I don't know. People say anything because they want to have a child.
And the blood test?
We don't know where that blood came from. Why do we have to believe them?
I feel used.
Who is using you?
- Everybody. - Everybody?
They take me from one place to another. They tell me all these things.
Who should I believe?
Who do you believe?
I don't know. The blood, for example...
how do I know it's mine?
You don't believe the judge?
I don't know. Sometimes I do.
When I see the picture I do...
but he lied to me.
Supposedly, they were testing my blood because of the appendicitis.
But do you understand why he did it?
Yes, but still he could have asked my parents.
Do you understand that he didn't have any guarantee that they'd cooperate?
Do you work for him?
I work for you, not him.
...but if you feel like it, can you tell him everything I say to you?
I don't tell him or anyone anything about what I discuss with my patients.
He hired me, but we work independently.
Hang in there.
Your life could change for the better.
I hope they finish it someday. It's been like that for 20 years.
- Honey, are the sausages ready? - Yes, they're ready.
Who wants some of the lettuce that I planted with my own hands?
- Which soccer team do you root for? - Boca.
Dad, she roots for Boca.
Excuse me, sausages for the children.
- You got whipped by River, huh? - But what about the other two times.
Well, we played with substitutes then.
Maxi, talking about soccer again. I told you that it's a game, not a war.
Please, you aren't going to talk about soccer all afternoon. Right?
- Yeah, but last time we won. - Don't worry, I root for Boca too.
- Nana, you don't count. - See the way they treat me?
Well, before anything, I want to propose a toast.
I want to say what a pleasure it is to finally have our cousin home.
I want you to know that you were always in this house with us...
but It's a great joy to have you really here with us.
Welcome. Cheers.
- Cheers. - Cheers.
- Happiness. - Cheers.
- Cheers to everyone.
Let's eat.
How do you like Nana's house?
Dark.
We all agree.
One time I saw a ghost there.
Luis is our ghost specialist.
Yes, It's true. I saw it in a room that's always closed.
It was white with many things on it.
It was big like the moon.
If at any time, for any reason, you want to come here...
this is your bedroom.
I can't believe you're here.
Do you like the Beatles?
I haven't listened to them much.
Your mom was a fanatic, she loved them.
She had all the records. There's the collection...
so if you want it, it's yours.
Want to play on the rocking horse?
Look, here you are at six months inside your mom's belly.
Two months later she was taken.
She wrote the date here-
- It can't be. - Why?
March 1978... it was a year before I was born.
You must have been born in June or July of '78.
We don't know the exact date, but maybe someday we'll find out.
I was born in March of '79.
It's written on my I.D.
Well, the Quadris may have and paid an officer to sign the certificate.
Different name... different date...
Luckily, your blood couldn't be changed.
- Catalan, Mirta - Here.
- Colomblo, Gustavo. - Here.
- Da Silva, Verónica. - Here.
- De Lucci, Paula. - Here.
- Domínguez, Gustavo. - Here.
Enciso, Verónica.
- Estévez, Jimena. - Here.
- Gonzales, Nicanor. - Here.
- Gutierrez, Marcos. - Here.
Juarez, Jimena.
Lombardi, Sofía.
She's calling you.
- Martinez, Estela. - Here.
Elisa?
Ode to the Present, by Neruda.
- Don't fall asleep. - Move it!
Move!
- Move it! - Pass it!
Let's go, girls-
- Pass it over... Good!
Good! Good!
So you're going to Moreno High now?
And you're at Belgrano?
I've got to talk to you.
About what?
My parents are also disappeared.
I don't know why my mother sent me to that shitty school.
She says my granny is to blame...
She's very Catholic and... she forced her to.
I don't know... give me a break. Just tell her no and that's it.
So, I wasn't heartbroken when I had to change schools.
I still can't believe what you told me.
I knew that Susana's dad was a cop, but not the guy who raised you.
My dad was a union delegate in a metallurgy factory.
My mom also worked there.
A week before the World Cup, in '78, the military went into...
my parents' house and took them.
They were in Orletti...
a clandestine prison.
They put them through hell...
...tortured with electric shocks...
...shot at with blanks.
What did your parents do?
They spoke out against the dictatorship. That was it.
Officially, Orletti was the name of an automotive shop.
But, in reality, it was a concentration camp right in downtown Buenos Aires.
A concentration camp in downtown Buenos Aires?
How do you remember this?
How would I remember? I was a one and a half.
My mom told me, I always knew it.
I was really very lucky...
The night before, they had left me at my grandmother's.
When my mom was released, the two of us went to Spain.
And your dad?
We never heard from him again.
What do you know about your parents?
There are two versions...
My parents... the ones who raised me...
told me they don't know anything about them.
The other family says they were kidnapped when my mother...
was 8 months pregnant...
And, well...
And where were you born?
Which prison were they taken to?
I don't know if they were in a prison.
Oh yes...
What's your real name?
They say It's Sofía Lombardi.
It seems my father's name was Agustín Lombardi, and my mother's...
Leticia Dominich.
I'll ask my mother. Maybe she knew them.
What do I call you? Sofía?
No.
Call me Cristina.
TO THE DISAPPEARED... WE'LL N EVER FORGET YOU!
...and about my father's family, what do you know?
Your father's parents died a few years ago.
You know, when your grandpa got sick, he asked us to get...
his blood analyzed so we could have proof.
And how did you find me?
Somebody told the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo.
Who?
We don't really know...
because we have to protect them... so we don't know.
Do you know where I was born?
In a clandestine prison?
In Orletti?
Actually, I think in another one.
Were they tortured?
You'll have to forgive me but...
...maybe later on I'll be able to talk about this.
Cristina.
- Angelica, what are you doing here? - Hi.
I went to your classroom. They told me you were here.
- I found something. - What?
Leave that.
That's my father.
See?
First they were taken to the Morín Police Department...
...and later the The Cave.
The Cave?
That's where your parents were.
It was a clandestine prison next to the Olmos Penitentiary.
They were both in the same places.
There's something else in common. See these numbers?
Witnesses.
There were people who saw your parents, mine, everyone there.
Your parents were seen by the same people in the same places.
Who are they?
3520 and 8154... that's all I know.
Angelica, if the numbers are here, then the names should be somewhere.
Yes.
- And they have this information. - Who has it?
The judge, your grandmother, your aunt.
This is public information.
What's not public is the names of the witnesses...
and I don't know what they know about that.
Let's play dumb and do our own investigation.
Don't tell anybody.
You'll have to be strong.
Sometimes we don't have any other choice.
Bye.
USA SU PPORTS TH E ARGENTINE REGIME
ARGENTINAA FINALIST
CARTER REAFFIRMS HIS H UMAN RIGHTS POLIC Y
KISSINGER HAS LU NCH WITH VIDELA
SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS, FORT BENN ING, GEORGIA, US
SCHOOL OF TH E AMERICAS, AND TH E MILITARY REGIME
WHERE DID THE FU NDS FOR TH E DICTATORSHIP ORIGINATE?
TWO SU BVERSIVES TAKEN...
AGUSTIN LOMBARDI AND LETICIA DOMIN ICH
Cristina!
- What are you doing here? - I came to play a game.
Which school are you attending?
I can't tell you that.
Aren't we friends?
It's not that...
They made me promise not to talk about it with anyone.
Someday, when I tell you, you'll understand what I mean.
That's ok, don't worry. I won't be waiting for your call.
Susana.
Did you know?
What?
About me.
How long have you known?
Your parents told you...
I don't know how I knew.
One day I realized you didn't seem like them...
I asked my parents and they told me, but they made me promise never to tell you.
They didn't tell you how they adopted me?
No, I didn't ask. It never crossed my mind.
That's weird... sometimes I also felt that...
I didn't belong to them.
Bye, Susana.
Bye.
Did you see the skirt she was wearing?
I found the names of the witnesses.
One... left the country. The other is a woman.
You don't know what I went through to find her.
Anyway, she's afraid... Jerk!
So...
Well, she said that she knows you... that she remembers you.
How would she know me? From where?
I don't know. She wouldn't say.
- She wants to see you. - I want to see her too.
Yeah? Well, what do you think about meeting after Gym?
I get out Thursdays at 5 PM.
- Ok, in the basement. - What basement?
That's where I meet with other kids.
- You can't tell anybody. - No, that's fine.
It's 20 minutes away from the gym on the subway.
- Is that ok? - Yes.
I'll call you tonight.
Ok.
Bye.
You're here...
- Are sure you weren't followed? - No, I checked. I wasn't.
Of course, you wouldn't remember me.
Do you know when I met you?
Sixteen years ago.
I warned Angelica that as much as I want to meet with you, it's going to be...
as hard for me to tell you this as it will be for you to hear it.
Where do you know me from?
What I'm going to tell you stays between us.
I don't trust anyone anymore...
but you khave to know this.
My name is...
Martha.
I'm a nurse.
I used to work at a hospital in Olmos... the penitentiary.
I remember this vividly because it happened...
...at the same time Argentina won the World Cup... in 1978.
I was working in the delivery room.
It was late at night. Outside, everyone was celebrating.
It was common then that some patients...
were brought in with no clinical history.
No paperwork. They were called N.N.
That's how your mother was brought in on a gurney.
At that moment...
...I didn't know who she was.
We were not allowed to talk to them.
Is it a boy or a girl?
I never learned who the woman who appeared in the delivery room of the N.N. Was.
It's a girl.
She was so desperate. That's why I told her it was a girl.
Nobody suspected anything.
We all knew that that room...
...was for the...
...detainees...
...or the ones in bad shape.
...live from the 1978 World Cup Final, where Argentina is the new champion...
Arriving at the podium, Their Excellencies, the commanders of the Armed Forces...
I will never forget what she whispered to me.
Her name is Sofía... Sofía Lombardi.
Bring her to me.
My shift ended.
The next day, when I went back...
they ordered me to do something I wasn't expecting.
An order from the top for your mother to nurse you because we...
had to keep you healthy.
The next day when I returned to the hospital.
I knew it was crazy, that I was risking my life.
"Agustín Lombardi, Sofía was born."
"I love you... Leticia."
That's how I knew who your parents were.
Your mother was taken away...
I never saw her again...
...and then, on my next shift two days later, you were gone.
And my father?
I found out he was in a different place where they both had been held.
- In a clandestine prison? - Yes.
In The Cave?
Yes.
- Did he ever find out I had been born? - There was no way to reach him.
But, I think it's possible that he found out...
that someone told him...
...although it seems impossible, some messages got through.
- Who took me away? - I don't know.
I never saw you again.
Do you know them?
They're my adoptive parents.
I don't remember them.
- This one, I think I remember him. - Which one?
- This one. - Jorge Macias, my godfather.
A very close friend of my father's, all his life. Co-workers...
They were colleagues in the police department.
I don't remember his name, really.
There were those who were good, and those who were bad.
He was one of the main thugs.
Everybody was afraid of him.
Yes.
He used to come in late to check on the detainees.
Jorge must have returned to the hospital.
He must have taken me to the police station.
And he must have called them from there.
Glow-Worm...
...they called him.
Glow-Worm?
Cristina!
You're wet!
Where are my parents?
Where are my parents? Now I know they existed.
You don't know how I was born?
Or where?
The 25th of June, 1978, the day Argentina won the Cup. That's my birthday.
A woman saw my birth.
She says the person who gave birth was blindfolded.
They didn't abandon me like you said...
Who told you that?
This was a year before you said I was found.
- This means I'm sixteen years old. - But who told you that?
I can't tell you that.
Why not? Whoever told you that garbage is lying.
She won't talk to anyone. She's afraid something could happen to her.
How could she be afraid? You believe her?
They're all actors...
It's all part of the circus that shitty judge is inventing...
to take you away from our home.
And the blood test?
And the match?
This woman saw me being born. She knows the name...
they were going to give me.
It could have been another baby... you don't know for sure.
Who'd you say saw your birth?
Glow-Worm was the one who brought me here, right?
What Glow-Worm?
What, you don't know?
Who's Glow-Worm?
My godfather...
He's Glow-Worm.
He knew who my parents were.
Didn't you?
Who do you think you are to investigate us?
How would we know if they were involved?
That was a war. In war, you either win or lose, damn it!
What war are you talking about? My mother was pregnant...
...she and my father were kidnapped...
the military waited for me to be born, and then they disappeared them.
If you think they were all little angels, you're very mistaken.
How did I end up here? By chance? Abandoned in a train?
We didn't know who they were.
Did you disappear them?
Did you shock them with cattle prods?
Who the hell do you think you are, stupid little girl?
Have you forgotten you're talking to your father?
Have you forgotten that I just barely escaped being blown up...
when the subversives bombed the police headquarters? What did you want?
That I end up dead like the others? Like my friends? Like my colleagues?
But you know what?
I don't have the slightest idea who your birth parents were...
or if they were involved, nor do I want to know.
But aren't you happy now...
that we found a place for you in this home?
Or would you rather have ended up in an orphanage or in the streets?
What do you think they'd have done with all those babies?
So you didn't know them?
You didn't do anything to them?
I didn't know them. I didn't do anything to them.
Cristina, we never knew.
We thought that...
...it was possible they were...
...among those people.
You didn't want to know.
Why would I want to know?
Ana may be able to go up and down those stairs, but I'm too old...
and tired to do that anymore.
Do you want to stay here?
I don't know.
It's obvious that even if I want to, I can't be your mother.
Here you'll have a family, you'll have cousins...
you'll grow up with them.
I'm sure that...
...that you're parents are happy.
Nana, about their disappearance...
...is it forever?
Although the precise number may never be known, it is believed that around 30,000 people disappeared
during Argentina's last military dictatorship.
Until July 2003, those responsible, except for a few cases of house arrest, were free, protected by laws...
created for their benefit by subsequent democratic governments.
74 children of the disappeared have been found.
The whereabouts of many more is still unknown.
The task of finding them continues...
in memory of our dear Susana Campos.
For the thousands of missing people who have accompanied us...
and who's stories have inspired this movie.
For Tammis, with "captive" from the start...
and for Amancai and Matias, my children, with hope in the future.