Armada

Directed by Julio Neri

With Mariaelena Roqué and Oscar Berrizbetia

Armada (1977), Julio Neri's first political film, was made at a time in which several Latin American countries –most importantly Argentina and Chile— had seen a turn towards military dictatorships. Neri questions authoritarian regimes through the narrative of a devoted but free-loving daughter, Armada, and her military father. Armada's line of argument departs from the militant films made by New Latin American Cinema directors in the 1960’s. Rather than openly opposing the violent and repressive regimes (represented by the father), Armada establishes a complex relationship in which the daughter is divided between the love towards her father and the love towards her freedom. However, Armada's death at the hands of her violent father clearly condemns the use of violence and is thus a call to action against repressive regimes. As many Super 8 films of the 1970’s and 1980’s, Armada has a synchronized sound track rather than diegetic sound.