Drought

Survival is no easy matter on the vast, dry plains of northeastern Mexico. That's something the desert cowboys who live and work on a communal ranch there know better than anyone. Every year they face death, avoiding the drought that threatens the ranch. "In order to have a piece of land, you must suffer," sighs an elderly man. In cinema verit\'e9 style, the director follows the ranch residents' daily lives, dominated as they are by the lack of water. We see the seasons pass over the dry, awe-inspiring prairie while the workers tend to the cattle and the land. And we see scenes from this close-knit community: at the dinner table, children going off to school, village parties and baptisms, horse races, and the occasional disagreement. First and foremost, however, time is spent waiting for that one cloudburst. As the land grows ever more parched, the last water source dries up, and the cattle become increasingly weak, an exodus seems inevitable.