Jonah and the Pink Whale 1995

In 1984, amidst the turmoil of economic decline and the rising influence of drug trafficking in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, the story unfolds around Jonás Larriva, a dedicated Julieta Egurrola who works as a university professor. Jonás is a man caught between his moral values and the corrupt realities surrounding him. He is married to the daughter of a funeral home owner, a character played by Claudia Lobo as Talia, and his life takes a complicated turn when his father-in-law, Patroclo, portrayed by Guillermo Gil, begins pressuring him to take up a lucrative project to improve their finances—a proposal involving overseeing the construction of an Egyptian-themed family mausoleum on the outskirts of the city.

Jonás, however, chooses to stay true to his profession and refuses the offer, preferring to remain a teacher rather than get involved in the shady business of his in-laws. During his birthday celebration, he encounters Julia, his rebellious and extravagant sister-in-law, who is played by María Renée Prudencio as Julia. Julia is depicted as a free spirit, unburdened by societal expectations, and her relationship with Jonás quickly becomes complex and charged with unspoken tension. The next day, Julia confides in her family that she has been the victim of an alleged assault, revealing her volatile and provocative nature. Jonás’s attempt to comfort her hints at a dangerous closeness between them, fueling the underlying tension.

Soon after, Jonás finds himself dismissed from his teaching job, which he suspects is due to political interference influenced by Patroclo. Despite this setback, he begins exploring new artistic outlets by setting up a photography studio in the basement of his home, encouraged by Julia’s daring suggestion to learn photography. Jonás’s mother-in-law, Ira (played by Etelvina Peña), attempts to influence his career path by securing him a job at a law firm, hoping to steer him away from his artistic ambitions.

In the secluded space of his studio, Julia boldly begins to experiment with her image, undressing and challenging Jonás to photograph her. Their creative act turns intimate, and they end up engaging in a forbidden love affair. As the photographs of Julia’s nude body accumulate, the studio becomes a symbol of their secret, passionate connection, a place where love and temptation intertwine beneath the shadows of societal taboos. This illicit relationship is marked by reckless abandon and raw emotion, leading to passionate moments captured in images and preserved in an album filled with photos and condoms, symbolizing their clandestine love.

Old friends visit Jonás in his makeshift studio, including Benjamin Grigotá, played by Milton Cortez, the privileged son of a former laborer turned wealthy man. Julia’s relationship with Grigotá deepens, especially when she goes to the United States, where she is sent by her mother as punishment. She eventually reveals to Jonás, through letters, that she is dating Benjamin and has married him, despite her father Patroclo’s vehement disapproval. Grigotá’s influence and Julia’s defiance lead to her being banished from Santa Cruz, but lucrative negotiations with drug traffickers, represented by Patroclo’s dealings, allow her to stay and fund the completion of the mausoleum, a stark symbol of the tangled and corrupt world they inhabit.

As tensions escalate, Jonás and Julia secretly confess their love and consider fleeing Santa Cruz altogether. Julia’s marriage to Grigotá, and her subsequent banishment, does not quell their feelings. Desperate and determined, Jonás takes a perilous step—working as a drug mule across the border for a $20,000 payoff. His risky venture ends in disaster when he is caught and tortured, only to learn that he was used as a decoy for drug smuggling operations. Returning to Santa Cruz, Jonás is haunted by the absence of Julia, and when he visits her, he finds her body, mummified after a brutal tragedy, being paraded in a procession to Patroclo’s mausoleum.

The story closes on a bleak note, with Jonás standing alone amidst the floodwaters of his shattered world, the photographs of Julia soaked and ruined by the rain—a haunting reminder of love lost amid chaos, greed, and betrayal. His world, once vibrant and rebellious, now lies in ruins, leaving him to face the aftermath of a life marked by forbidden passion and the relentless grip of a society teetering on the edge of moral collapse.