CLACS Media Collection

Catalog Information

High in the majestic Andes of Peru, silent but deadly traces of mercury, remnants of long-ago silver mining bring illness and death to a local village. Seeking retribution, the villagers mistakenly attribute the outbreak to Western doctors who work in the nearby mountains; violence ensues, and a doctor is killed. Altiplano is the story of two women: Saturnina, the fiancé of a villager killed by mercury poisoning; and Grace, a shellshocked war photographer who is also the wife of the dead doctor. As Grace sets out on a journey of mourning to the place of her husbands death, Saturnina takes drastic action to protest the endless violations against her people and her land. As their destinies merge, this lyrical and probing film explores our divided but inextricably linked world.

---