''The Girlfriend'' ( es, La Amiga) is a 1988 Argentine-German historical

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Jeanine Meerapfel Jeanine Meerapfel (born 14 June 1943) is a German-Argentine film director and screenwriter. She has directed twenty films since 1966. In 1984, she was a member of the jury at the 34th Berlin International Film Festival. She was born in 1943, in ...

and starring Liv Ullmann,

Cipe Lincovsky Cecilia "Cipe" Lincovsky (21 September 1929 – 31 August 2015) was an Argentine actress. She made her stage debut in 1953, and joined the Berliner Ensemble in 1960. Lincovsky spent much of her career overseas, including in Venezuela and France, ...

and

Federico Luppi Federico Luppi (; February 23, 1936 – October 20, 2017) was an Argentine-Spanish film, TV, radio and theatre actor. He won numerous awards throughout his acting career, including a Concha de Plata at the San Sebastian International Film Fest ...

. It was written by

Osvaldo Bayer Osvaldo Bayer (18 February 1927 – 24 December 2018) was an Argentine writer and journalist. He lived in Buenos Aires. In 1974, during the presidency of Isabel Perón, he went into exile, residing in Linz am Rhein, Germany, throughout the Natio ...

, Alcides Chiesa,

and

Agnieszka Holland Agnieszka Holland (born 28 November 1948) is a Polish film and television director and screenwriter, best known for her political contributions to Polish cinema. She began her career as assistant to directors Krzysztof Zanussi and Andrzej Wajda, ...

. The film was selected as the Argentine entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the 62nd Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Plot

María and Pancho (Liv Ullmann and Federico Luppi) are a happily married couple in a quiet, working-class suburb south of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, circa 1978. They share the grief over the disappearance of their eldest son Carlos (Gonzalo Arguimbau), with María's lifelong friend Raquel Kessler (Cipe Lincovsky), a feisty

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

girl whose cultural identity made her a target to some; but all the more endearing to María, her only gentile childhood friend. "Married" to the theatre, in which she became prominent, Raquel's career has been protected from anti-Semitic attacks by her lover Diego (Victor Laplace), an influential public television executive who skillfully maintains a balance between his love for the opinionated Raquel and the need to placate the repressive mindset prevalent in that era's last civil-military dictatorship (1976-1983). María's relentless search for her son strains her relationship with both her husband and Raquel, who give up hope after lengthy and costly attempts to find him. Raquel's own Jewish identity and fondness for roles "discouraged" by the dictatorship such as

Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & R ...

cause her serious problems, as well, and lead to her exile in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. María, who had always led a quiet life, earns the growing respect of her fellow

Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo is an Argentine human rights association formed in response to the National Reorganization Process, the military dictatorship by Jorge Rafael Videla, with the goal of finding the '' desaparecidos'', initially, a ...

, women from all walks of life united by their search for their detained sons and daughters (most of whom were known by the dictatorship to be uninvolved in political violence). This mission becomes her life's passion and eventually leads her to Berlin, where a

German Argentine German Argentines (german: Deutschargentinier, es, germano-argentinos) are Argentines of German ancestry as well as German citizens living in Argentina. They are descendants of Germans who immigrated to Argentina from Germany and elsewhere in E ...

exile tells her of his having seen Carlos near death at one of the many secret government detention centers, an anecdote rejected by the grieving María, who returns to Buenos Aires driven to find her son. Raquel herself returns to Argentina following democratic elections in 1983, finding that Diego is unhappily married and that María will never accept the death of her son as fact. Bewildered, Raquel nearly gives up on María; finding instead that the bonds of a lifelong friendship endure.

Cast

* Liv Ullmann ... María *

... Raquel Kessler *

... Pancho * Víctor Laplace ... Diego *

Lito Cruz Lito Cruz (May 14, 1941 – December 19, 2017) was a prominent Argentine stage director and motion picture actor. Life and work Lito was born Oscar Alberto Cruz in the working-class La Plata suburb of Berisso in 1941, and began performing in lo ...

... Tito, the police lieutenant * Nicolás Frei ... Commando squad leader *

Harry Baer Harry Baer (born Harry Zöttl on 27 September 1947) is a German actor, producer and author, best known for his work with director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. He has also been credited as Harry Bär. Life Harry Baer began his career in Munich when ...

... Raquel's friend in Berlin * Gregor Hansen ... Witness to Carlos' torture * Gonzalo Arguimbau ... Carlos *

Fernán Mirás Fernán Gonzalo Mirás (born July 17, 1969) is an Argentine film and television actor and film director. He is sometimes credited as Fernando Mirás. Career He debuted in theater at the play ''El protagonista'', in 1989. In 1993 he starred i ...

... Pedro * Max Berliner ...Cemetery caretaker *

Beatriz Thibaudin Beatriz Thibaudin (Buenos Aires, August 9, 1927 – Buenos Aires, February 7, 2007) was an Argentine film, stage, and television actress. She studied drama with Luis Gutman, Lito Cruz, and Augusto Fernandez, as well as body language, classical da ...

... Unsympathetic neighbor *

Bárbara Mujica Bárbara Mujica (née Bárbara Moinelo Múgica; stage name Barbara Moinelo; Buenos Aires, March 13, 1944 - Buenos Aires, August 1, 1990) was an Argentine film, stage, and television actress of the 1960s and 1970s. Her mother was the actress Al ...

... Maria's dubbed, Spanish-language voice

References

External links

*
''La Amiga - Die Freundin''
at

filmportal.de filmportal.de is an online database of information related to German film. It includes extensive information on films and filmmakers as well as articles on film issues. The website was released on occasion of the 54th Berlin International Film Fe ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Girlfriend 1988 films German drama films West German films Argentine drama films Argentine black-and-white films 1988 drama films 1980s German-language films 1980s Spanish-language films Films about Latin American military dictatorships Films directed by Jeanine Meerapfel Films set in Buenos Aires Films shot in Buenos Aires 1988 multilingual films Argentine multilingual films German multilingual films 1980s German films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links