La Sierra (NR)

synopsis

"La Sierra" traces a year in the life of a neighborhood in Medellín, Colombia, ruled by a paramilitary gang. The film follows the lives of three young people: Edison, the charismatic leader of the gang and playboy who has fathered six children with six different women; Cielo, a teenage widowed mother with a paramilitary boyfriend in jail, trying to survive without falling into prostitution; and Jesus, a young gang member whose readiness for death fuses with his indulgence for drugs. An intimate, meditative exploration, the film captures both startling moments of violence and its aftermath, and the tenderness and faith that enables a community to survive.