During the civil war in the 1980s, government troops wracked the remote village of Cinquera in the mountains of El Salvador and killed most of its inhabitants. Nevertheless, many of the surviving former residents returned after 12 years of war to rebuild the village.
Director Tatiana Huezo, whose grandmother is from Cinquera, imbues the history of this place with a universal significance by contrasting the past with the present and death with life. She shows the beauty of everyday activities, the solidarity and resilience of the community, while in voice-over we hear the woeful stories of lost loves – as if we're reading the thoughts of the people we're watching.
Slivers of stories float like the morning mist across the trees in a montage that makes the passing of time palpable. Every now and then, time seems to stand still, while black-and-white photos depict the young residents of the village who didn't survive the war.
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