AllMovie

This political drama was inspired by a novel which chronicled the achievements of Guatemalan Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu Tum. Set in Guatemala during its civil war, it documents the story of Aschlop who comes back to Guatemala after staying in a Mexican refugee camp, to find her brother Mateo with whom she shares a deep bond. She came to find Mateo, now a guerrilla fighting for Guatemala's Indians, after his son was born in the Mexican camp. Aschlop's guardian spirit is the puma which guides her through the decimated villages and dangerous paths of her native country. When she sees her own village now soldier occupied, bitter memories flood back to her. She is eventually captured by men who torture her. The puma intervenes and she is able to escape.