It's the end of the Fujimori's era in Peru. Vladimiro Montesinos, one of the shadiest characters involved in the Fujimori administration flees the country, only to return a short time after. Videos in which Montesinos is shown accepting bribes from people seeking all kinds of political gains are revealed and shown to the nation on television. It was a dark time for Peru and its citizens.
What we watch in this film is how the corruption affected a cross section of the population. We see the wealthy lawyer who loves young girls and tries to entice an innocent young woman to have sex with him under the pretext he is trying to help her imprisoned father. At the same time, we are introduced to two older men, one of them happens to be the young woman's grandfather, as they discuss what's wrong with the country, and how they see the solution.
There is also a vain television news presenter who suddenly discovers a blemish on his cheek. The blemish is a symbol for all what is wrong and how it turns into melanoma that has invaded his body, which seems to mean the way the director of the film, Francisco Lombardi, sees the situation in his home land.
Another vignette involves a young man who works at the Lima's Supreme Court of Justice, as the person who brings coffee to the different offices. He happens to live in a fantasy world, living vicariously through the American videos he watches in the rented room of a poor family. This man happens to be in the right place, at the right time, because his video viewing pays off when he lands a job looking at the transcripts of the Montesinos' video tapes.
The last story interlaces a colonel who finds out he has been ousted from the government. He has no strength to commit suicide. When he strikes a young woman who happens to be running right in front of his car in a busy highway, he realizes he must take her to get medical attention. The colonel becomes involved with this woman's recovery. Her husband is in charge of unearthing bodies of people that have been killed by the military forces, following orders, no doubt from the higher ups like Vladimir Montesinos and the corrupt army bigwigs.
Francisco Lombardi is a great director, and don't you forget it! Mr. Lombardi never ceases to amaze in the way he sees what's wrong in his society, or in politics, as is the case on this highly charged movie. He brings all these different characters together in stories that touch one another in ways one doesn't expect. He seems to be telling us how all humans are interconnected, whether we realize it, or not.
For this film, Mr. Lombardi assembled a talented cast. Gianfranco Brero, a great collaborator of the director, has the pivotal role of Colonel Revoredo. Gustavo Bueno, is the evil lawyer with the right connections and the money to buy influence. Patricia Pereyra is excellent as the suffering Elena, whose husband is in danger for daring to reveal to the nation where the dead are buried. Paul Vega is also amazing as Gonzalo, the vain man, who suddenly faces his own mortality. Melania Urbina, plays Mercedes, the sweet young woman who is the object of the lawyer's sexual fantasies. Carlos Gassols and Jorge Rodriguez Paz, appear as the two old men in the hospital.
The film is a document about recent Peruvian events. Francisco Lombardi dared to present this story in the only way he knew how to do it: truthfully!
What we watch in this film is how the corruption affected a cross section of the population. We see the wealthy lawyer who loves young girls and tries to entice an innocent young woman to have sex with him under the pretext he is trying to help her imprisoned father. At the same time, we are introduced to two older men, one of them happens to be the young woman's grandfather, as they discuss what's wrong with the country, and how they see the solution.
There is also a vain television news presenter who suddenly discovers a blemish on his cheek. The blemish is a symbol for all what is wrong and how it turns into melanoma that has invaded his body, which seems to mean the way the director of the film, Francisco Lombardi, sees the situation in his home land.
Another vignette involves a young man who works at the Lima's Supreme Court of Justice, as the person who brings coffee to the different offices. He happens to live in a fantasy world, living vicariously through the American videos he watches in the rented room of a poor family. This man happens to be in the right place, at the right time, because his video viewing pays off when he lands a job looking at the transcripts of the Montesinos' video tapes.
The last story interlaces a colonel who finds out he has been ousted from the government. He has no strength to commit suicide. When he strikes a young woman who happens to be running right in front of his car in a busy highway, he realizes he must take her to get medical attention. The colonel becomes involved with this woman's recovery. Her husband is in charge of unearthing bodies of people that have been killed by the military forces, following orders, no doubt from the higher ups like Vladimir Montesinos and the corrupt army bigwigs.
Francisco Lombardi is a great director, and don't you forget it! Mr. Lombardi never ceases to amaze in the way he sees what's wrong in his society, or in politics, as is the case on this highly charged movie. He brings all these different characters together in stories that touch one another in ways one doesn't expect. He seems to be telling us how all humans are interconnected, whether we realize it, or not.
For this film, Mr. Lombardi assembled a talented cast. Gianfranco Brero, a great collaborator of the director, has the pivotal role of Colonel Revoredo. Gustavo Bueno, is the evil lawyer with the right connections and the money to buy influence. Patricia Pereyra is excellent as the suffering Elena, whose husband is in danger for daring to reveal to the nation where the dead are buried. Paul Vega is also amazing as Gonzalo, the vain man, who suddenly faces his own mortality. Melania Urbina, plays Mercedes, the sweet young woman who is the object of the lawyer's sexual fantasies. Carlos Gassols and Jorge Rodriguez Paz, appear as the two old men in the hospital.
The film is a document about recent Peruvian events. Francisco Lombardi dared to present this story in the only way he knew how to do it: truthfully!
