The Official Story

In 1983 Buenos Aires, Alicia Maquet is a high school history teacher who lives with her husband Roberto and their adopted daughter Gaby. She remains largely unaware of the regime's brutality, trusting that only guilty people are arrested. Their comfortable routine masks the growing fear outside their home.

During a classroom discussion about Mariano Moreno, Costa questions the official history as being written by murderers. Benítez steps in to shield a student and challenge the conformity of the moment. The seeds of Alicia's doubt begin to take root.

Ana returns from exile and recounts how officials ransacked her apartment and tortured her for living with someone branded subversive. She reveals that babies were taken from pregnant women, a detail that traumatizes Alicia. Her story shakes Alicia's sense of safety.

Alicia starts questioning Gaby's birth and origins, asking why they celebrate the day they brought her home instead of her birthday. Roberto urges her to ignore the questions and stay calm. The tension between truth and family silence grows.

Alicia arrives at school to find newspaper accounts of the desaparecidos taped to the blackboard, a stark public reminder of the terror. Costa continues to provoke his classmates, while Benítez intervenes to protect him. The atmosphere of fear becomes personal for Alicia.

While seeking Gaby's hospital birth records, Alicia learns of an organization searching for missing children. She meets Sara, a woman whose pregnant daughter was kidnapped by the armed forces. The possibility that Gaby could be connected surfaces.

Sara shows Alicia a photo of her own missing daughter at Gaby's age, looking strikingly like Gaby. This sight deepens Alicia's suspicion that Gaby may be related. The mystery presses in on Alicia and Roberto.

Roberto faces pressure at work as colleagues and relatives maneuver within the system, and several employees disappear. Ana confronts him about accusations that he denounced her, widening the rift among friends. The couple's bond strains under the regime's shadow.

Alicia brings Sara to meet Roberto, hoping for understanding, but he erupts with anger and demands that Sara leave. Alicia realizes he cares little about the truth of Gaby's origins. The couple's tensions come to a head in their own home.

Alicia confronts Roberto about not knowing Gaby's origins, and he attacks her in a fit of rage. The telephone rings, and Gaby, who is at her grandparents’ house, asks to sing a nursery rhyme to her mother. The moment interrupts the violence but leaves Alicia shaken.

After the call, Alicia tears up and leaves the house with her purse, forgetting her keys at the door. The act marks a decisive separation from an untruthful life. She steps into an uncertain future in search of truth.

The film closes on Gaby sitting in a wicker rocking chair, continuing to sing the same nursery rhyme. The image lingers, signaling the unresolved questions about Gaby's origins. The last frame ties the personal to the broader trauma of the era.