‘Argentina, 1985’ is officially the best non-English language motion picture at the 2023 Golden Globes. The movie, which focuses on the true story of how a young and inexperienced legal team dared to prosecute the heads of Argentina’s military dictatorship, won in the ceremony’s return to television after a slew of controversy. And yet, sadly, what should have been a crowning moment for a sensational movie that focuses on a crucial moment in Argentina’s history, is now being overshadowed by what happened in the ceremony as director Santiago Mitre and lead actor Ricardo Darín gave their acceptance speeches.
First, Mitre started his speech in Spanish, only to switch to English after seemingly being told to do so. Then, after he finished his speech and Darín started his, the music started swelling to a point where Darín’s words were hard to understand. This apparent silencing happened as Darín was trying to say some words in Spanish, and on a night when talent from our communities mostly got to shine as presenters, not as winners.
It was apparent enough that it quickly became a topic of conversation on social media, especially as the ceremony continued and people started comparing how quickly Mitre and Darín were cut off compared to other winners.
The Golden Globes are, of course, an awards show beholden to specific production rules. There is a schedule to be kept, but for an association that started the ceremony trying to confront the diversity issues that led to the show not being televised last year to cut off one of the few winners from our communities proves not as much had changed as they would like for us to believe, especially when Steven Spielberg won the following award and was allowed to speak for almost three minutes.
It’s also a reminder that although the Latine population in the United States numbered 62 million in 2022, according to the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute, our communities still have a long way to go towards the recognition and respect they deserve.
We cannot change what happened at this particular awards ceremony. Still, we can hope that this moment brings light on ‘Argentina, 1985, the story it’s trying to tell, and the people that worked very hard to bring it to the screen.
‘Argentina, 1985’ is available to stream on Amazon Prime.