Paraguayan Hammock

It is 1935 and in a remote part of Paraguay, an older couple sit together in a hammock, talking, drinking tea, and undertaking everyday tasks as they wait for their son to return from the Chaco war. He is an optimist and believes their son will return; she speaks of her son as if he is dead and dispassionately waits for the passing of time to end so she can stop waiting - waiting for the rain to come and waiting for the dog to stop barking. As with most of us, the couple’s pain and their anxiety emerges in what they don't (and can't) say to each other. Visually poetic, the film’s use of sound is equally hypnotic as human voices and the sound of the elements are brought to the fore. After several acclaimed shorts, Paz Encina's debut feature film is a mesmerising and absorbing experience of loss, hope and anguish.

A landmark in cinema.

Toronto International Film Festival