In the first scene we witness a violent altercation between María, a young woman in her last weeks of pregnancy and her abusive husband Lionel. He becomes temporarily incapacitated and María drives away in the family pickup carrying a few personal effects and a rifle with telescopic sight (the rifle will stay next to her for the rest of the movie). Although her plans are far from clear, she wants to drive to Naicó, a small town where she was born and where her parents are buried. Her quest is difficult since she is not sure of how to drive to Naicó and she can't find the town in road maps. After a while, her problems are compounded; her husband is driving after her.
In the course of her trip she meets various characters; a childhood friend turned road cop, a man without visible means of support that hangs around gas stations and subsists exchanging information and/or trinkets for food and shelter, a preacher (priest or not?) driving an ancient bicycle and carrying a weird, rickety contraption that he calls a chapel, a man who claims to be a relative of María's mother and helps her along the way, a child without visible family support living by his wits At each step María asks for directions to Naicó and receives ambiguous or discouraging answers; she is told to avoid the place, where mysterious lights roam the fields at night and a cult of otherworldly blonde beings terrorizes the residents. Finally she reaches Naicó and a sort of resolution is achieved. All trough the film we hear a voiceover from her son, then unborn, now a teenager that tells the tale as told to him by his mother. The last part of the movie was filmed in the actual town of Naicó, little more than a few farms around the intersection of two roads, with an abandoned church and an unkempt cemetery. The title is part of the popular saying Pueblo Chico Infierno Grande (Small Town, Big Hell).
I liked this movie. It it could be classified it would be as a minimalist road movie, a genre the comes naturally to Latin American directors. Acting is excellent especially from Guadalupe Docampo, playing María, She reflects every nuance of her character's feelings and has an endearing childlike quality that makes her especially charismatic. Cinematography captures the dusty summer in the almost limitless plains. Music is a little obtrusive at times but does its job. Highly recommended.
