In the small, impoverished town of Melo in Uruguay, very near the border with Brazil, there are a group of men who make their living smuggling contraband across the international border, dealing with the corrupt border guards there. The movie concentrates on one of the men, who has a wife and daughter who live in an impoverished house which is little better than a shack. The daughter has dreams of having a career of being in television, though that seems very far away. The father of course has dreams of making money in a less risky way.
Opportunity comes for not only him but for his fellow villagers when Pope John Paul II comes to the town to speak. Everybody expects huge crowds to come to Melo, and most of the townsfolk get loans with the idea of serving food and drink to the coming visitors. Our hero has a more clever idea; he comes up with a pay toilet for the visitors. But he still has to smuggle some more to create his bathroom...will everything pay off?
This movie is based on real events, and while I cannot say how accurate the movie depicts Uruguay and its slums, the movie provides an appropriate atmosphere for the story.
Opportunity comes for not only him but for his fellow villagers when Pope John Paul II comes to the town to speak. Everybody expects huge crowds to come to Melo, and most of the townsfolk get loans with the idea of serving food and drink to the coming visitors. Our hero has a more clever idea; he comes up with a pay toilet for the visitors. But he still has to smuggle some more to create his bathroom...will everything pay off?
This movie is based on real events, and while I cannot say how accurate the movie depicts Uruguay and its slums, the movie provides an appropriate atmosphere for the story.