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Night of the Pencils (film)

Night of the Pencils (1986) is a Argentine drama film directed by Hector Olivera and written by Olivera and Daniel Kon. It is based on the non-fiction book by Maria Seoane and Hector Ruiz Nunez.

This motion picture, based on actual events, tells the story of seven teenagers, five boys and two girls, who, during a time of economic and political unrest in Argentina in the mid 1970s, protest for lower bus fares in Buenos Aires.

The event takes place as Argentina's notorious Dirty War begins.

Plot

The kids want reduced student bus fares so they take to the streets and protest. At first, under Isabel Martinez de Peron's government they succeed, but their protests draw hostile attention from the military regime, led by Emilio Eduardo Massera, that overthrows Peron. So-called "leftist agitators" are not tolerated by the new government.

The ensuing crackdown on the student social activities is demonstrated in the film when police break up a school dance wielding swords and on horseback.

Later, six students are kidnapped in the middle of the night, and the police claim ignorance about their whereabouts.

Pablo (Alejo Garcia Pintos), a seventh member of the group is later arrested by the police. He learns that his friends have been brutally tortured by governmental authorities and he's not spared. The police give him electric shocks while radio music masks his cries.

Yet, he's lucky and survives to tell their horrific story. His classmates are never found and become part of the thousands of desaparecido students who were kidnapped and never seen again by their families or friends.

Background

Basis of film

The motion picture was based on the non-fiction book, La noche de los lapices, written by Maria Seoane and Hector Ruiz Nunez. The book profiles seven high school student activists from La Plata, Argentina, including lone survivor Pablo Diaz, who gives the authors his testimony. The students were kidnapped by the government after protesting for cheaper bus fare.

Pablo Diaz was incarcerated for four years. The other six students became a part of the 236 Argentine teen-agers who were kidnapped and disappeared during the military dictatorship.

Filming locations

The film was entirely shot in the city of Buenos Aires.

Cast

Alejo Garcia Pintos as Pablo Diaz

Vita Escardo as Claudia Falcone

Leonardo Sbaraglia as Daniel

Jose Maria Monje as Panchito

Pablo Machado as Claudio

Adriana Salonia as Maria Clara

Tina Serrano as Sra. Falcone

Hector Bidonde as Sr. Falcone

Alfonso De Grazia as Fake priest

Lorenzo Quinteros as Raul

Distribution

Night of the Pencils first opened in Argentina on September 4, 1986. It has been featured at various film festivals including: the New York New Directors/New Films Festival, the Moscow Film Festival, where it was nominated for the "Golden Prize," and the Toronto Film Festival.

In March 2003 the film was included in a slate of films shown at the 1st International Film Festival on Human Rights, held in Geneva, Switzerland.

Critical reception

Critic Manavendra K. Thakur was appreciative of the direction of the film and wrote, "Olivera seems to have kept his integrity mostly intact. He does not shy away from disturbing realities, and he draws a surprisingly complex portrait of the students, their captors, and the students' parents. The film's accomplishment in this regard is considerable and therefore worthy of serious attention...[and] this is especially true of the film's second half." Thakur, Manavendra K. The Tech, Volume 109, Number 54, page 9, December 1, 1989. Last accessed: January 15, 2008.

Caryn James, film critic for The New York Times, also liked Olivera's work, and wrote, "Mr. Olivera builds his film on irony and contrast, so the visual beauty of the early scenes - the deep blue night in which cars and lights glisten - calls attention to the ominous unseen political dangers. In daylight, the once-beautiful, now crumbling buildings, including the high school itself, become emblems of a country falling apart, not knowing what to preserve from its past." James, Caryn. The New York Times, film review, March 14, 1987. Last accessed: January 15, 2008.

Award nomination

Moscow International Film Festival: Golden Prize, Hector Olivera; 1987.

External links

La noche de los lapices en cinenacional.com .

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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Night of the Pencils (film)