Missing

"What I was particularly interested in illustrating was an investigation during which a middle-aged man and a young woman discover the true face, him of his son, her of husband" (Costa-Gavras). "There are two screenplays in Missing. One is the drama of conscience, concerning America, liberal thought when the country doesn't see what is happening and doesn't want to look reality in the face. The other is of a country under the yoke of fascism. The ideal form to combine these two fictions is the docudrama, invented by American TV" (Serge Toubiana). In its political ambition, the film criticises the incarnations of totalitarianism and throws light on the collusion between the CIA and the Chilean junta. In the United States the film caused fierce debate, with some people criticising it for being anti-American. An unprecedented event was the American government actually published a note countering the film's hypotheses and covering agents potentially involved. Palme d'or in Cannes in 1982.