Undertow (Contracorriente)

2010/ Peru/ ‎100 mins/ Dir. Javier Fuentes-León

Cast: Tatiana Astengo, Manolo Cardona, Cristian Mercado

In a small fishing village on the Northern coast of Peru, where deep rooted religious traditions run deep, Miguel, a well respected fisherman and his beautiful bride, Mariela, are about to welcome their firstborn. But Miguel harbours a scandalous secret; he is also in love with a man, Santiago, a visiting artist who has been ostracized by the local community.

When Santiago drowns in a tragic accident, his spirit returns to Miguel in a form that only he is able to see. For the first time, they are free to express their love without fear. But Santiago remains trapped in the village, unable to cross peacefully to the other side, until his body is found and buried in accordance with the rituals of the town. Miguel now has to decide whether to sentence Santiago to eternal torment by refusing to cooperate, or choosing to do right by him, setting him free and in turn, revealing their relationship to Mariela and the entire village. Forced to deal with the consequences of his acts, Miguel must now come to terms with who he really is, even if by doing so, he stands the chance of losing everything, including the people he loves the most.

“stroke of genius…a tender, unforced, well constructed and attractively shot fable about what it means to be a man.” Independent on Sunday

“this is a true gem” Time Out