The film is from the perspective of Gonzalo Infante, a privileged Chilean boy, during a time period in which the lower classes are politically mobilized, demanding more rights and forcing fundamental change. At the same time the upper middle class, including Gonzalo's own family, grow fearful of the growing socialist movement and plot against the country's elected president, Salvador Allende. Gonzalo's father, while sympathetic to the poor and not part of the right-wing movement, wants to leave the country to Italy, where he frequently travels for work, to avoid the Socialist policies. Sra. Infante is having an affair with a wealthy older gentleman, who gives Gonzalo gifts to keep him quiet. Gonzalo is sometimes bullied by his sister's boyfriend, who is a violent anti-Allende right-winger who uses nun-chucks to intimidate people. The family often buys products off of the black market, due to rationing and shortages.
Nostalgia for the Light opens with a view of a telescope and images of our moon. The narrator, Patricio Guzmán, describes how he came to love astronomy and begins to remember his childhood where “only the present moment existed.” Soon, Chile became the center of the world as astronomers and scientists flocked to Chile to observe the universe through the thin and clear skies. We next see Guzmán walking in the Atacama Desert, a place with absolutely no moisture, so much so that it resembles the surface of Mars. This desert, and its abundance of history, becomes the focus of the documentary. Because of how dry it is, the desert hosts the untouched remains of fish, mollusks, Indian carvings, and even mummified humans.
Le film montre un vieil ours qui sort tous les jours de sa maison vide, pour jouer d'un petit orgue de Barbarie au coin d'une rue de la ville qu'il habite. Lorsqu'il joue de l'orgue une boîte de théâtre de marionnettes mécanique se met en action et raconte l'histoire de sa famille, qui a vécu heureuse jusqu'à ce qu'un cirque l'emmène loin de sa femme et son fils.
The filmmaker has described the film as part of a diptych with Nostalgia for the Light, exploring familiar Guzmán themes such as memory and the historical past, particularly of that of the history's "losers" rather than victors, as it documents the settlement of Chile’s Tierra del Fuego, including some of the last surviving descendants of the original Alacalufe and Yaghan inhabitants.
L'histoire vraie de Jorge del Carmen Valenzuela Torres. Ce paysan analphabète et alcoolique entame à Nahueltoro (Coihueco) une liaison avec Rosa Rivas, veuve et mère de cinq enfants. Le 20 août 1960, furieux que sa compagne n’ait pas touché sa pension de veuvage, il la tue à la faux, avant d'assassiner brutalement les cinq enfants.
This film shows how Allende managed to be elected in Chile and brings hope to a part of the population by enforcing socialist measures. It also explores Richard Nixon's policies and his orders to the CIA (Project Fubelt) concerning Allende during his election campaign.
Alejandro et ses parents ont quitté Tocopilla pour s'installer à Santiago. Alors que son père souhaite qu'il devienne médecin, le garçon rêve de devenir poète. Après avoir quitté sa famille, il fréquente les milieux artistiques et rencontre notamment les poètes Enrique Lihn, Nicanor Parra et Stella Díaz Varín.
Young Alejandro (Jeremías Herskovits) lives with his Jewish-Ukrainian parents Jaime (Brontis Jodorowsky) and Sara (Pamela Flores) in Tocopilla, Chile. Jaime is a communist who worships Stalin and raises his son with great severity. He plans to assassinate the right-wing president Carlos Ibáñez del Campo (Bastian Bodenhofer). To get close to Ibáñez, Jaime gets a job as groom to the president's beloved horse Bucephalus. But when Jaime has Ibáñez at gunpoint, his hands become paralysed. Jaime begins a long journey, is captured by Nazis and tortured. Rebels free Jaime and return him to his family in Tocopilla. Jaime's hands are healed when Sara tells him "You found in Ibáñez all you admired in Stalin. You are the same as they are! You have lived in the guise of a tyrant." Alejandro, Jaime, and Sara board a ship and leave Tocopilla.
Tano, adolescent turbulent, est envoyé dans le sud du Chili, chez son père qu’il n’a pas vu depuis plusieurs années. Au lycée, il fait la connaissance de Cheo, jeune garçon timide d’origine mapuche, malmené par les autres élèves. Ils se lient d’amitié, chacun apprenant à dépasser ses difficultés grâce à l’autre. Si Tano canalise progressivement sa colère, Cheo quant à lui trouve la force de revendiquer son identité amérindienne. Tous deux s’impliquent alors dans la défense du territoire Mapuche...
C'est l'anniversaire de Raquel, 41 ans, bonne fidèle depuis vingt-trois ans chez la famille Valdes, une famille bourgeoise de Santiago du Chili. Elle a trop de travail et elle est malade, mais elle ne supporte pas la possibilité de partager son travail avec une quelconque autre bonne. Un jour, un accident va se révéler source de changement important...
Marina, une jeune serveuse transgenre qui aspire à devenir chanteuse, développe une relation amoureuse avec Orlando, le propriétaire d'une imprimerie de 20 ans plus âgé qu'elle. Tous deux planifient leur avenir ensemble, mais Orlando meurt soudainement. Marina se voit contrainte d'affronter la famille d'Orlando et de se battre afin de prouver qu'elle est une femme forte, honnête et fantastique.
Four retired Catholic priests share a secluded house in a small Chilean beach town, under the vigilant gaze of a female caretaker. The four men are there to discreetly purge their sins and crimes (ranging from child abuse to baby-snatching), until their routine is disrupted by a fifth man who makes them relive the past they thought they had left behind.
A group of 17 Chilean soldiers is marching through the baking hot desert, led by a captain who demands rigid discipline. One at a time, the men fall victim to the overwhelming drudgery and engagements with irregular troops.
The film depicts Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval’s road to becoming considered one of Chile’s greatest folklorists and artists. It chronicles her guitar playing at a very young age, the ambience of her musician father’s haunts, and the rural settings of southern Chile in the Ñuble Province.