The Girlfriend

María and Pancho grapple with the sudden vanishing of their eldest son, Carlos, while the family home in the quiet Buenos Aires suburb becomes a place of unanswered questions. The couple's grief is shared with María's longtime friend Raquel, whose support anchors their fragile hope. The absence colors every day as they search in silence, afraid of what the truth might reveal.

Raquel steps into the center of María's world as a sounding board and ally. The two women navigate a landscape of loss, while Raquel's own life—her career in theatre and the attention from her lover—adds complexity to their bond. Their friendship becomes a lifeline as the search for Carlos continues.

Raquel's celebrated theatre work and high-profile connections help shield her from anti-Semitic attacks, but the repressive climate of the dictatorship nonetheless bleeds into her life. Diego, her lover and a public television executive, walks a tightrope between supporting Raquel and appeasing powerful forces. The era's censorship and fear complicate Raquel's art and relationships.

As political pressure intensifies and the dictatorship discourages controversial roles, Raquel leaves Argentina for exile in Berlin. There, her Jewish identity and fearless spirit keep her connected to the culture she loves while underscoring the costs of dissent. The move isolates her from a country she still believes in.

María's search for her son expands beyond a private ordeal as she joins the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, a growing collective of women seeking the detained. She earns the respect of fellow mothers from diverse backgrounds and finds a sense of purpose in a public, collective struggle. The movement reinforces her resolve to keep looking for Carlos.

What began as a personal grief evolves into a lifelong mission. María's relentless search consumes her days and reshapes her identity as a mother and activist. Her determination strains personal relationships but also galvanizes a wider circle of kin and friends around the cause.

Driven by hope and desperation, María travels to Berlin seeking any lead about Carlos's fate. The journey embodies the international reach of the dictatorship's reach and the personal costs of a missing child. In a foreign city, she confronts memories that echo home and questions she may never fully answer.

In Berlin, a German-Argentine exile recounts having seen Carlos near death at one of the detention centers. María initially rejects the anecdote as too painful to believe, clinging to hope that her son is alive. The claim, however, forces her to confront the brutal reality of the regime and fuels her resolve to keep searching.

Grasping at any thread of truth, María leaves Berlin and returns to Buenos Aires with renewed determination to uncover Carlos's fate. She refuses to accept silence or death as final and keeps pressing to understand what happened to her son. The city remains a backdrop to a personal crusade that will define her life.

Following Argentina's return to democracy in 1983, Raquel returns from exile to her homeland. She discovers that Diego is unhappily married, and that María has not accepted the possibility that Carlos might be dead. The reunion with a changed nation mirrors the changes in their own lives.

Diego's marriage is shown to be unhappy, revealing the personal costs of his balancing act between Raquel and public life. María's insistence on the possibility of Carlos's survival challenges their understanding of loss. The emotional landscape remains tense, yet their complex ties endure.

Despite separations, exile, and political upheaval, the lifelong friendship between María and Raquel persists. They find strength in shared memories and continued faith that their sons may still be alive or that truth will emerge. The film closes on a note of cautious hope and enduring connection.