At 6 a.m. on April 3, 1983, the life of the Rivera family changed abruptly. They were at breakfast when suddenly shots rang out. That was nothing unusual; their house was in the middle of the fighting between the Contras and the Sandinistas. But this time the bullets struck nearby. And then the Contras came and abducted the thirteen-year-old twins Juan and José, fourteen-year-old Emilio, fifteen-yearold Reina, and their father. The mother begged the Contras to leave her at least one child, but they refused and marched off. Then the mother grabbed Juan, who was lagging behind the others, and told the troops that they would have to kill her to get the child. Juan was allowed to remain with his mother, but the Contras set the house on fire. The story of this family shows how the war tore a handful of people asunder and how sons fought against each other. When they reunited at the end of the war, each tried to overcome the memory of the wounds, the dead, the guilt, and the mutual hate. But their social ties were meanwhile so frayed that they couldn't come back together again. This is a film that uses extraordinary means to describe this family's tragic fate as the tragedy of a whole country.
Production: Chango Films (Mexico-City), Cinta Negra
Screenplay: Mercedes Moncada Rodríguez
Cinematographer: Javier Morón Tejero
Editor: Viviana García, Mercedes Moncada Rodríguez
Sound: Luis Arau Verdayes
Format/screen ratio: 35mm, 1:1.85, Color
Running time: 78 min., 24 frames/sec.
Language: Spanish
