Chronicle of an Escape

Tamburrini is abducted by members of the Argentine secret police and taken to the detention center Mansión Seré in the Morón suburb. He is blindfolded, treated as a guerrilla suspect, and confined in a dilapidated house. The period marks the start of daily intimidation and the fight for information he does not possess.

Inside the detention center, Tamburrini endures regular torture as his jailers press for information he cannot provide. He remains non-political and lacks any real knowledge of guerrilla activities, amplifying his vulnerability. The routine establishes a relentless sense of fear throughout his confinement.

Tamburrini discovers that an acquaintance nicknamed El Tano has lied under torture and implicated him. This accusation connects Tamburrini to a non-existent network and compounds the ever-present risk of being discovered guilty. He learns the danger is broader than his own innocence.

On New Year’s Eve, Huguito pretends Tamburrini will be released, only to move him to another room and reveal that he will never be freed. The cruel taunt intensifies the realization that death is a constant possibility. The moment crystallizes the brutal regime’s indifference to individual life.

Tamburrini attacks Tano after learning of his lie and manipulation to implicate him. Tano claims he had no choice, but Tamburrini refuses to betray anyone to secure his own survival. The exchange underscores the moral injury created by torture and coercion.

A new captive, Guillermo, arrives and confesses that he was the one with the mimeograph used to forge papers for Tano. Tamburrini clings to the hope that this means he might be released, but Guillermo warns that survival may require implicating someone else. The dynamic shows how truth and survival are tangled under duress.

Tano and about a dozen other captives are told they are being transferred to prison, but they are drugged and handed over to the Argentine Air Force. The implication is that they will be killed in a death flight, a grim tactic used by the regime. Tamburrini faces the fear of execution while clinging to a fragile hope.

After four months of imprisonment, Tamburrini, along with Guillermo, Vasco, and Gallego, dives out a window during a thunderstorm. They escape from the detention center with nothing but their senses and determination. The escape marks a desperate bid for freedom against overwhelming odds.

The four escapees hide through a night in the suburbs, evading capture and scavenging for resources. They manage to obtain money and clothes, facilitating their separate paths to safety. The immediate objective becomes simply surviving until they can disappear from the country.

Three of the escapees leave Argentina, including Tamburrini, who goes into exile following his escape. The journey underscores the broader displacement caused by the dictatorship and sets the stage for the later recounting of these events in his book. The act of leaving marks a new, fragile chapter in his life.

Years after the events, Tamburrini writes the book that would become the basis for the film. The narrative reconstructs the trauma, courage, and moral choices faced during arrest, torture, and escape. The book serves as a testimony and a historical record of the era.