Chronicle of an Escape

Chronicle of an Escape, also known as Buenos Aires, 1977, is a 2006 Argentine historical drama film directed by Israel Adrián Caetano. The screenplay is written by Caetano, Esteban Student, and Julián Loyola, based on the autobiographical book Pase libre – la fuga de la Mansion Seré written by Claudio Tamburrini. The film was produced by Oscar Kramer and Hugo Sigman, and stars Rodrigo de la Serna, Pablo Echarri and Nazareno Casero. The film tells the true story of four men who narrowly escaped death at the hands of a military death squad during Argentina's last civil-military dictatorship (1976-1983). Winner of the Silver Condor Award for Best Film, it was Argentina's entry for the 2007 Golden Globes Awards for the Best Foreign Language Film, and director Israel Adrián Caetano was nominated at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival for a Golden Palm. Plot On 23 November 1977, during Argentina's last civil-military dictatorship, Claudio Tamburrini (Rodrigo de la Serna), a goalie for a minor league soccer team in Buenos Aires, is abducted by members of the Argentine secret military police. He is taken to a detention center known as Mansión Seré: an old dilapidated house in the suburban neighborhood of Morón on the suspicion he is a guerrilla man who opposes the dictatorship. Blindfolded, Tamburrini is tortured daily by his jailers, who demand information he does not have because he is not a political activist and never was. Tamburrini discovers an acquaintance nicknamed El Tano, whom he has met twice in his life, has lied under torture and falsely implicated him, claiming he has a mimeograph. On New Year's Eve, Huguito, the lead captor, teases Tamburrini by implying he is about to be released. Instead, he is taken to another room with more men. When Huguito insists Tamburrini remove his blindfold and look at him, Tamburrini understands he will never be released alive.