Not even bad in a good way

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Bechis masters both camera and music to create an unbearable atmosphere of repression. Rarely have I seen such overpowering scenes deftly juxtaposed with banal shots of everyday city streets, effectively highlighting the urgent, yet hidden nature of political dissent. Not for the lighthearted, but for those willing to endure a gut-wrenching film for the sake of experiencing the tragic reality of what actually happened in Argentina, Chile and, more disturbingly, what probably is going on right now in places like Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, even as you read this. I definitely think films like this should be shown as a counterweight to the current sanitized version mainstream media feeds us, after being put through the hell of the concentration camp style 'garage olimpo', I doubt anyone would believe much in the hollow promises of militaristic presidents ever again.

This is a powerful, hard-hitting film, depicting the experience of a 'desaparecida' in Argentina at the end of the 1970s. Garage Olimpo examines how 18-year-old Maria copes with a sustained period of imprisonment and torture. One of the most disturbing elements of the film is its exploration of the bond and unexpected power plays that develop between Maria and one of her captors, Felix. Director Marco Bechis deals with the complexity of human relations unflinchingly - asking the viewer to consider the real nature of a range of human responses and experiences: love, hate, attraction, power, sex, sadism, kindness and the almost visceral need for basic physical and emotional contact. He typically heightens the impact of his subject matter through understatement and contrast. This can be seen in his use of sound for example, in which he sets up a ping-pong game or relentlessly upbeat song on the radio as a backdrop to scenes of implied violence. Bechis similarly avoids any direct shots of violence, using the captors' chillingly matter-of-fact attitude or the painstakingly slow build-up to the door closing on a torture room to let the viewers' imagination run riot. This approach is echoed by the cinematography, which after Maria's arrest is largely confined to the undergound network of cells and torture rooms where the prisoners are kept. Bechis uses this framework of restricted vision and heightened sound to reflect and convey the prisoners' experience. This is an unforgettable, disturbing and beautiful film, that sticks with the viewer long after the credits have rolled.

I'm not sure this movie will be released where you're reading this comment,but if it is, please,go and see it. you have to. Be prepared though: It's very intense and disturbing, and when it is over you will feel dirty, soiled,shocked. This is a film about Argentina under the Military regime of the late '70s. This is a movie about the desaparecidos, Argentinian citizens kidnapped from their homes from the police and the military,tortured and imprisoned to extort information from them and then, finally, killed, most of the times thrown in the ocean from a plane while doped. Their crime? Trying to fight this regime. The film is almost perfect:great screenplay,great cast,great direction. Essential viewing. For more than one reason. Rating:9

If you like the Loach of "Land and Freedom" you'll love this film. Bechis forgot the stillness and the nihilism of Alambrado to direct a touching and tough film on Argentina's regime. A real good movie, I loved it, hope you will too!