''Night of the Pencils'' ( es, La noche de los lápices) is a 1986 Argentine
historical
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
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-g ...
directed by Héctor Olivera and written by Olivera and Daniel Kon. It is based on the
non-fiction book
Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with b ...
Leonardo Sbaraglia
Leonardo Máximo Sbaraglia (; born 30 June 1970) is an Argentine actor, with extensive credits in both Argentina and Spain. He has also worked in Mexico, and was cast in his first English-language role in '' Red Lights''.
Biography
Sbaraglia was ...
, José María Monje, Pablo Machado, Adriana Salonia and
Héctor Bidonde
Héctor Pastor Bidonde (born March 3, 1937 in La Plata) is a noted Argentine theatre, film and television actor.
He was a shift worker in a tool & dye factory when, in 1954, he was offered a part in Carlos P. Cabral's play ''Amarretes''. He was ...
.
The film, based on the actual events recorded in history as the " Night of the pencils" (''La noche de los lápices''), tells the story of seven students who, after protesting for lower bus fares for students in the city of
La Plata
La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...
disappeared
An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organiza ...
. Only one student survived to tell what happened.
Plot
During a time of economic and political unrest and
State-sponsored terrorism
State-sponsored terrorism is terrorist violence carried out with the active support of national governments provided to violent non-state actors. States can sponsor terrorist groups in several ways, including but not limited to funding terrorist ...
in Argentina in the mid-1970s, the students want reduced bus fares, so they take to the streets and protest in support of the ''boleto estudiantil'': the students' ticket. At first, under
Isabel Perón
Isabel Martínez de Perón (, born María Estela Martínez Cartas, 4 February 1931), also known as Isabelita, is an Argentine politician who served as President of Argentina from 1974 to 1976. She was one of the first female republican heads ...
's government they succeed, but their protests draw hostile attention from the ensuing military regime led by
Jorge Rafael Videla
Jorge Rafael Videla (; ; 2 August 1925 – 17 May 2013) was an Argentine military officer and dictator, Commander in Chief of the Army, member of the Military Junta, and ''de facto'' President of Argentina from 29 March 1976 to 29 March 1981. H ...
, which overthrows Perón on March 24, 1976.
The dictatorship announces that the "leftist agitators" will not be tolerated by the new "government". The increasingly violent crackdown on student gatherings is demonstrated when the police break up a school dance brandishing guns. On September 16, six students of the city of
La Plata
La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...
are kidnapped in the middle of the night, and the police claims ignorance about their whereabouts. This is the actual event that will later be called "Night of the Pencils".
Pablo (
desaparecidos
An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organiza ...
'' of the dictatorship, who were kidnapped and never seen again.
Leonardo Sbaraglia
Leonardo Máximo Sbaraglia (; born 30 June 1970) is an Argentine actor, with extensive credits in both Argentina and Spain. He has also worked in Mexico, and was cast in his first English-language role in '' Red Lights''.
Biography
Sbaraglia was ...
as Daniel
* José María Monje as Panchito
* Pablo Machado as Claudio
* Adriana Salonia as María Clara
* Tina Serrano as Mrs. Falcone
*
Héctor Bidonde
Héctor Pastor Bidonde (born March 3, 1937 in La Plata) is a noted Argentine theatre, film and television actor.
He was a shift worker in a tool & dye factory when, in 1954, he was offered a part in Carlos P. Cabral's play ''Amarretes''. He was ...
as Mr. Falcone
* Alfonso De Grazia as Priest impersonator
*
Lorenzo Quinteros
Lorenzo Quinteros (14 June 1945 – 23 April 2019) was an Argentine cinema and theatre actor.
Born in Córdoba Province, Quinteros has appeared in many films since his debut in '' Alianza para el progreso'' in 1971. His reputation as a talented ...
as Raúl
*
Juan Manuel Tenuta
Juan Manuel Tenuta (Fray Bentos, Uruguay, 23 January 1924 – Buenos Aires, Argentina, 5 November 2013) was a Uruguayan actor, active in Argentina.
He is most remembered for his roles in ''Waiting for the Hearse'', ''I Don't Want to Talk About ...
as the Rector
Background
The motion picture was based on the
non-fiction
Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...
book, ''La noche de los lápices'', written by María Seoane and Héctor Ruiz Núñez. The book profiles seven high school student activists from
La Plata
La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...
, including lone survivor Pablo Díaz, who gives the authors his testimony. The students were kidnapped by the government after protesting for cheaper bus fare.
Pablo Díaz was transferred to legal incarceration and released on 19 November 1980. The other six students, however, were among the 236 Argentine teenagers who were kidnapped and disappeared during the military dictatorship.
Production and distribution
The film was shot entirely in the city of La Plata.
''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 New Directors/New Films Festival is an annual film festival held in New York City, and organized jointly by the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center
Film at Lincoln Center, previously known as the Film Society o ...
, the
Moscow Film Festival
The Moscow International Film Festival (russian: Моско́вский междунаро́дный кинофестива́ль, translit. ''Moskóvskiy myezhdunaródniy kinofyestivál''; abbreviated as MIFF) is the film festival first h ...
, and the
Toronto Festival of Festivals
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
.
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
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
.
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... ndthis is especially true of the film's second half."
Caryn James, film critic for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
,'' 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."
The film was nominated for the Golden Prize at the
15th Moscow International Film Festival
The 15th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 6 to 17 July 1987. The Golden Prize was awarded to the Italian film ''Intervista'' directed by Federico Fellini.
Jury
* Robert De Niro (United States – President of the Jury)
* Tengiz ...
National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons
National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (Spanish: ', CONADEP) was an Argentine organization created by President Raúl Alfonsín on 15 December 1983, shortly after his inauguration, to investigate the fate of the ''desaparecidos'' (vi ...
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 ...
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...