The Trial
La Prueba
Judith Velez Merino
Peru | 2004 | 103mins | DVD | Colour | Subtitled

After finding himself embroiled in some shady financial dealings Miranda’s father, Ignacio, hastily disappears from their lives, never to be heard from again. Ten years later her brother Tomas succumbs to an illness. He urgently needs a blood transfusion and the only person compatible with his rare blood-type is his father. Miranda journeys to her aunt who reported a sighting of Ignacio some years previous. She directs Miranda to the remote forgotten village where their grandparents were born.

On her journey deep into the arid, drought-gripped landscape Miranda encounters a range of characters whose simple beliefs run counter to her metropolitan snobbery, from the rugged Sául to peasant farmers. She finally tracks down her father. With four months to go before his crime prescribes he can’t risk returning to Lima. However, Tomas urgently needs the donation within four days. Ignacio has also made a new life for himself in the village but Miranda has prepared a demanding test from which the whole family life hangs.

Rich and thoughtful The Trial has similar resonance as fellow South American film Central Station but emotional journeys have never seemed so mythic nor have concepts of justice and divine will played out so delicately.