More than twenty years after the bloody Civil War in Guatemala ended, military offenses are at last being tried before a criminal court. It is the job of Ernesto (Armando Espitia), a young forensic anthropologist, to exhume and arrange the skeletal remains of the soldiers, and to gather testimony from their widows and children. His mother Cristina (Emma Dib) discourages her son from wasting time trying to unearth the bones of the father he never knew, but Ernesto’s gut indicates otherwise. The hunch pays off when a witness shows up holding a group photo that includes a man respectfully called “the Boss” by his underlings — a man who bears a striking resemblance to Ernesto’s father. Does the snapshot indicate a soldier different from the hero who has been living inside his son’s head all these years? In 78 minutes, first-time director Cesar Diaz’s flashback-free narrative sets out a present-day story of quiet desperation and family entanglements with dignity and restraint. A silent montage of the worn-down faces of real-life survivors goes far to underscore the tales of horror and degradation that women were forced to endure. Strong stuff for Mother’s Day, but worth it. Now playing on the Digital Gym’s Virtual Cinema. (2019) — Scott Marks
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