Post Mortem (2010/II)

Cast: Marcelo Alonso, Alfredo Castro, Amparo Noguera, Jaime Vadell

Director: Pablo Larrain

Rating: NR

Running Time: 98 min.

Synopsis: Love makes life complicated for one man as his country is thrown in chaos in this drama from director Pablo Larrain. It's 1973, and Mario (Alfredo Castro) makes his living assisting a coroner in Chile. The nation is in turmoil, as the leadership of Salvador Allende is on the verge of being toppled in a coup d'etat, and Allende's leftist supporters are fighting with soldiers on the streets, but Mario's thoughts are elsewhere, as he's fascinated with Nancy (Antonia Zegers), who lives in his neighborhood and dances in a seedy nightclub. While Nancy usually shows little interest in Mario, when he offers to give her a ride home one evening she accepts, and he thinks fate is smiling on him until they're caught up in a demonstration on their way and Nancy is spirited away by Victor (Marcelo Alonso), a pro-Allende activist. Later that evening, Nancy pays Mario a visit when she discovers her father is hosting a meeting of Union supporters acting against the coup; Mario is happy to see her, but over the next twenty-four hours matters turn ugly as Nancy's father and brother are killed and he's summoned in to work to help deal with the bodies left behind by the military takeover. Post Mortem received its North American premiere at the 2010 New York Film Festival.