Undertow 2010

Miguel is a young fisherman in Cabo Blanco, a small village in northern Peru known for its distinctive death rituals. He is married to Mariela, who is pregnant with their first son, but he also harbors a secret affair with a male painter named Santiago, whom he meets in a deserted cave along the coast.

Santiago drowns at sea, and his ghost returns with a request: to locate his body so it can be buried according to the village’s rituals. Miguel undertakes this quiet, determined quest and, after a patient search, finds the body in the water—yet he does not tell the ghost about the discovery.

Meanwhile, the village becomes entangled in rumors when nude paintings of Miguel surface at Santiago’s house, fueling belief that the two men were lovers. Mariela hears the gossip, confronts Miguel, and, upon hearing his confession, goes to her mother’s house with their newborn child, seeking safety and distance.

Miguel resumes his search for Santiago’s body, but the current has carried it away. Mariela eventually returns home, and a new moment disruptive to the quiet life of the village arrives: Santiago’s body appears in the nets of a fishing boat. Seizing the opportunity to honor the bond he shared with Santiago, Miguel claims the body for a burial at sea.

He carrys the shrouded body to the water and commits it to the waves, fulfilling the ghostly lover’s wish. Just after the burial, Santiago’s ghost reappears for a final, intimate moment, caressing Miguel, who then returns home alone as the sun sets in a quiet, closing light.

This restrained, atmospheric drama unfolds themes of love, guilt, and ritual, painting a slow-burning portrait of a community and the tides that shape its customs. *Themes of loyalty, desire, and the weight of tradition echo through the sea-winds and the silent village streets, leaving a lingering sense of closure at sundown.