In the Meantime

From the first images of soapsuds swirling in a washing machine to the final scene of white sheets drying on a line, this film portrays the daily rituals of the elderly and the handicapped in an asylum in El Salvador. The narrator, Elba, is an intelligent woman who once worked in a law firm and kept up with the fashions "running up and down stairs in high heels" until she had a stroke which robbed her of the ability to walk and talk. Now, she communicates with her writings and her messages are conveyed to the viewers in a calm and soothing voice over narration. Images of hunched backs, rounded shoulders, twisted feet, and quivering hands are emphasized as patients eat together in the meal hall, dance to live music, and spend an afternoon at the beach. Latin guitar music is occasionally blended with location recordings of cutlery, shuffling feet, conversations, snoring, and the ocean. Meanwhile, the staff bathe the patients in the same workaday way as they would wash the dishes, the floor, and the laundry. Our mute protagonist, being swathed in white linen by a nurse as she tries to signal her desire to write a message, is ultimately ignored.