Filmed in the remote, pristine Atacama desert, Patricio Guzman’s stunning documentary follows apparently disparate groups of people each searching for profound answers in this arid landscape. While astronomers observe the stars and search for the origins of the universe, archeologists sift through the desert soil to look for remnants of human civilizations. Meanwhile, decades on, wives and sisters continue their daunting search for the remains of their loved ones “disappeared” by the Chilean army after the 1973 coup. Addressing the lasting impacts of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship, Patricio Guzman juxtaposes and neatly weaves together these celestial and human explorations, creating a deeply moving and personal odyssey.
“It is deeply intelligent, intensely and painfully political, and yet attempts, and succeeds, somehow to transcend politics and perhaps even history itself.”
The Guardian
