In the 41st year of the Chicago Latino Film Festival, my experience began with a film that is poverty-based in the vast surroundings of a desert. A film where mining and finding gold is the goal, but the dynamics and political factors are what lie beneath the surface. Directed by Juan Francisco Olea, the uncertainty of challenging moving parts is a prominent theme in Bitter Gold. I found this to be a one-of-a-kind achievement. Bitter Gold presents real-world issues and brings reality to a halting point unveiling the portrait of what events can unravel when scenarios go awry.

The film stars a father, Pacifico (played by Francisco Melo) and his daughter, Carola (played by Katalina Sanchez). Pacifico is the boss of a mining crew and their lives depend on the work he does. When the workers continually question their payments and who does what better, a detrimental situation arises for Pacifico. Furthermore, an injury impacts him from being able to fulfill his duties and secure his livelihood. It all falls onto Carola to take control of Pacifico’s operations, but with her being unaware of the politics or moving parts of the mining operation, many dynamics spiral downward and impact the workings and the potential for finding any form of gold.

The film lays down the foundation of why operating by the book serves a greater importance. There is a lot of conflict and personal corruption her. Especially with the absence of Pacifico, and Carola doing everything in her power to keep operations going. Overall, though, Bitter Gold is surreal in creating the outcomes of shifted situations in a different culture. It portrays awidespread landscape of scenarios that go awry when business is done under the table. Four out of four stars for Bitter Gold.