Hamaca Paraguaya

Set in a remote Paraguayan village in the 1930s, Ramón and Cándida are an ageing couple of Guaraní peasants who are waiting for better times to come. They go about their daily chores, meeting at regular intervals at a clearing to sit in a hammock and talk about seemingly trivial things: the nuisance of a dog’s barking, the overwhelming heat, the rain which teases but doesn’t come. Broken-hearted by their son’s departure, they await his return from the Chaco War. Cándida’s hopes aren’t high but Ramón stays positive and maintains that no news is surely good news. Paz Encina’s debut feature, supported by World Cinema Fund, is a moving and minimalistic portrayal of isolated life and the struggle to maintain a hopeful outlook in the worst of situations, symbolised by the pervasive presence of thunder throughout.