A drug-cartel worker runs afoul of his boss and migrates to Canada, in Ivan Grbovic’s timely tale of star-crossed love and starting over.
Willy (Jorge Antonio Guerrero), a Mexican drug-cartel worker, has made a fatal mistake: he has fallen in love with his boss’s wife, Marlena (Yoshira Escárrega). Both go into hiding separately. A desperate Willy believes Marlena has fled to Montreal. He eventually finds work as a seasonal migrant worker in rural Quebec, where he becomes entangled in his host family’s domestic turmoil, which is reflective of his own experience in the cartel. As he hopes to reunite with Marlena, his margin of error is narrower than he realizes.
Serbian-Canadian director Ivan Grbovic has delivered a layered, timely exploration of longing, desire, and the vulnerability that migrant workers face working abroad. Punctuated by mesmerizing sequences of magical realism, moving performances from a diverse ensemble cast, and a captivating script from celebrated cinematographer and co-writer Sara Mishara, Grbovic’s film unleashes an unapologetic statement that will resonate universally, especially for those who have been compelled to leave home and start anew.