Delving into the nearly-religious significance of water, this profound rumination on memory and loss bridges the gap between its mystical origins, Pinochet's coup d'état, and the secret of a mother-of-pearl button at the bottom of the sea.

The ocean contains the history of all humanity. The sea holds all the voices of the earth and those that come from outer space. Water receives impetus from the stars and transmits it to living creatures. Water, the longest border in Chile, also holds the secret of two mysterious buttons which were found on its ocean floor. Chile, with its 2,670 miles of coastline and the largest archipelago in the world, presents a supernatural landscape. In it are volcanoes, mountains and glaciers. In it are the voices of the Patagonian Indigenous people, the first English sailors and also those of its political prisoners. Some say that water has memory. This film shows that it also has a voice.

Boasting almost 4,300 kilometres of coastline and an impenetrable tie to the vast Pacific Ocean and the harsh archipelagoes of Patagonia, Chile--mother of indigenous tribes such as the Yagán, the Selk'nam, and the Kawésqar--never quite succeeded in exploiting its full potential. Delving deep into the nearly-religious significance of water, Patricio Guzmán's profound rumination on memory and loss bridges the gap between the mystical origins of the life-giving liquid, Pinochet's horrible coup d'état, and the appalling secret of a single mother-of-pearl button at the bottom of the sea. In the end, what connects the boundless cosmos to the aqueous substance that surrounds us?—Nick Riganas