A Mapuche chief faces legal consequences after arson, defended by a lawyer who uncovers a deeper conflict over sacred ancestral lands.
In a small town in Patagonia (Southern Argentina), a Mapuche Indian chief sets a tourist complex under construction on fire. He denies all attempts to defend himself. Locked up, he waits for the arrival of "Caleuche," the Ship (Nave) of Fools (de los locos), a mythical figure of his ancestral strength which "made" him start the fire. An appointed lawyer (a white woman) comes to the chief's defence, alleging the chief had acted in self-defense as the white man was building commercial structures on the sacred burial grounds of his ancestors, and continued doing so even after heated protests.
Ricardo Wullicher
Rating: 7.2/10 (5 votes)