by Eleanor Mannikka
synopsis
This perplexing comedy-drama is provincial in setting and dialogue. Juan (Ovidi Montllor) is a local villager who spends an evening with Esperanza (Eva Leon) or "Hope," an itinerant singer. She has come to town for a festival and leaves the next day. Once she has left, Juan is suddenly mute and listless, leading his family to place him in a mental hospital. The inmates in the institution seem no worse than people on the outside and better than the nun who manages their care. Juan adjusts without great difficulty until he has a vision of Esperanza and upsets the status quo around him.
