''The Lost Steps'' ( es, Los pasos perdidos) is a 2001 Argentine and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

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 Manane Rodríguez and written by Rodríguez and Xavier Bermúdez. The film features

Irene Visedo Irene Visedo Herrero (born 16 July 1978) is a Spanish actress who became popular in Spain for her performance as Inés Alcántara in the TV series '' Cuéntame cómo pasó''. Biography Born in Madrid on 16 July 1978. She started training as a ...

Luis Brandoni Adalberto Luis Brandoni (born 18 April 1940) is an Argentine actor and politician. Biography Brandoni was born in Dock Sud, a port community east of Avellaneda. He debuted on the stage in 1962, television in 1963, and on film in 1966. He joined ...

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 ...

, among others.

Plot

The film tells the story of Mónica Erigaray (

), who is twenty years old and lives with her parents Ernesto Erigaray (

) and Inés (

Concha Velasco Concepción Velasco Varona OAXS MML (born 29 November 1939), known professionally as Concha Velasco, or Conchita Velasco in her beginnings, is a Spanish actress, singer and television presenter. She has received numerous accolades throughou ...

). Seventeen years ago the Erigarays left Argentina and moved to Spain to live a peaceful and quiet life. However, things change rather abruptly when a famous Argentinian writer named Bruno Leardi (

) claims that Mónica is in reality his granddaughter named Diana, daughter of his son Diego Liardi who disappeared during the

Dirty War The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 as ...

in Argentina. At one point in the film Ernesto Erigaray and his cohorts accost Bruno and make it clear that harm will come to him if he persists with his accusations and attempts to see Mónica. Erigaray decides to confront Bruno in his hotel room, but nothing is settled. The family ends up in a Court approved hearing and Ernesto Erigaray is accused of being the Argentine torturer known by his men as "El Sapo" ("The Toad") who did his nasty work in a place known as "the Cesspit." Subsequently, DNA tests prove that Mónica is indeed the daughter of Diego Liardi and Sara Pereira (a Spanish citizen). Mónica leaves the Erigaray's and they are arrested and tried for the murder of a Spanish citizen and Mónica's illegal abduction. One year later Mónica travels to

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 ...

and marches with the

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 ...

. She drops by her grandfather's home and tells him Diana has come to call on him. The film ends with the dedication: :To the mothers and grandmothers of Plaza del Mayo, and to those who resist the abduction of our memories.

Cast

as Mónica Erigaray (Diana Leardi Pereira) *

as Ernesto Erigaray *

as Inés Laroche *

as Bruno Leardi * Juan Querol as Pablo * Jesús Blanco as Luis * Gabriel Moreno as Gómez * Pedro Miguel Martínez as Mélendez * Cristina Collado as Míriam * Amparo Valle as Matilde * Paulina Gálvez as Abogada Leardi * Yael Barnatán as Silvia

Reception

Critical response

Jonathan Holland, film critic for ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' magazine, gave the film a mixed review, and wrote, "Built around the children of Argentina's "

desaparecidos An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a State (polity), state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or po ...

"—political victims who disappeared during the 1970s military dictatorship—''The Lost Steps'' delivers a challenging political message in an easy-to-swallow manner.

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

an director Manane Rodriguez's sophomore feature—following ''Portrait of Woman With Man in Background'' (

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

)—has powerful moments, but by focusing too strongly on the human interest rather than the politics, it ends up looking like a skeleton-in-the-closet family drama. Appearances in politically themed fests could be an option."Holland, Jonathan
''Variety,'' film review, November 30, 2001. Last accessed: January 26, 2008.

Awards

Wins *

Valladolid International Film Festival The Valladolid International Film Festival, popularly known as Seminci (short for ; ), is a film festival held annually in Valladolid, Spain. First held in 1956 as ('Valladolid Religious Film Week'), the Seminci is one of the longest-standing fi ...

: FIPRESCI Prize - Special Mention, Manane Rodríguez; for confronting universal ambiguities in personal and social-political contexts and opting for harsh truth against convenient lies; 2001. * Toulouse Cinespaña,

Toulouse, France Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

: ''Prix Cinespaña'', Manane Rodríguez; 2002. Nominations * Argentine Film Critics Association Awards: Silver Condor, Best Actress, Irene Visedo; 2002. * Bogota Film Festival: Golden Precolumbian Circle, Best Film, Manane Rodríguez; 2002. * Valladolid International Film Festival: Golden Spike, Manane Rodríguez; 2001.

References

External links

* *
''Los pasos perdidos''
at the

cinenacional.com Cinenacional.com is a web portal and World Wide Web, web-based database about Cinema of Argentina, Argentine cinema. It is the most comprehensive site for information about the Argentine film industry, with a vast array of information on films, tel ...

''Los pasos perdidos''
review at ''La Butaca'' by Rubén Corral * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lost Steps, The 2001 films 2001 drama films Films about Latin American military dictatorships Argentine independent films 2000s Spanish-language films Spanish independent films 2001 independent films Argentine drama films Spanish drama films 2000s Spanish films 2000s Argentine films