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Poster for Cautiva

Cautiva

A whole life ahead. A whole past to face.

2004 · 1h 55m · Unrated Drama
Directed by Gaston Biraben

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Overview

Cristina's life is thrown into turmoil when she is suddenly escorted from her strict Catholic school in Buenos Aires and told that she is really Sofía Lombardi, the daughter of activists who disappeared in the '70s. Questioning everything she once thought true, Cristina embarks on a journey to find her true identity. Meeting others like herself, the young girl soon discovers the real-life horrors of Argentina's relatively recent past and the nightmare that claimed tens of thousands of lives during the country's "dirty war."

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
73%
Tomatometer
Fresh

Part detective story, part coming of political age saga, and all teenage identity crisis.

Ty Burr, Boston Globe
Rotten

If Biraben had devoted more energy to the human contours of his story, its metaphorical implications would have sorted themselves out.

Sam Adams, Los Angeles Times
Fresh

Neither Biraben's script nor his direction leave room for doubt as to how he feels about the nightmarish past, but he's smart enough to know that even justified outrage sometimes has to be tempered with the complexities of human intentions and realities.

Ernest Hardy, L.A. Weekly
Fresh

The Argentine thriller Cautiva features a solid performance by 23-year-old Barbara Lombardo that goes a long way in making up for the telenovela script.

V.A. Musetto, New York Post
Fresh

The debut feature of Gaston Biraben, Cautiva is most potent in its first hour, as it bears witness to the disorientation and distrust experienced by a young girl whose life is suddenly turned upside down.

Jan Stuart, Newsday

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