La Mina De Oro Short - Film Summary Fixed

Pedro smiles for the first time in the film. José puts the pyrite in his pocket and digs with renewed, furious energy. The camera shows the walls of the pit subtly shifting. Small grains of sand begin to trickle down from the top edge, but José is too euphoric to notice. Pedro, more observant than his father, sees a larger clump of dirt fall from the rim. He calls out nervously:

The "gold mine" of the title refers to a rumor that has swept through the village: deep beneath the dry riverbed lies a vein of gold. Wealthy landowners and foreign companies have already stripped the area of its timber and wildlife. Now, the impoverished locals believe that digging deep enough will reveal a fortune that will lift them out of poverty.

"Pedro… the rope. Throw me the rope."

"José, you’ve been digging for three months. There’s no gold here. The company left because the vein ran dry long ago." José (not stopping): "They didn’t dig deep enough." Traveler: "You’re going to kill yourself and that boy. Come work on my farm. I’ll pay you in food." José (pausing, looking up with red eyes): "I need gold. Food won’t buy Pedro a future."