Synopsis
Martina is a 30 year old graphic designer, born in Chile and who moved to Italy in the early 2000. She lives with Marco, an ambitious lawyer and they have a 7 years old son, Mateo. Martina is in a quandary: she is aware the relationship with her partner is over and feels unconfortable in Italy where an economic crisis is driving people to the point of despair. As a result, her only desire now is to return to Chile with her son. Thanks to the economic growth there, she is convinced she can give Matteo a better future in South America. This creates conflict and disagreement with Marco, who is not willing to lose his son.
After the umpteenth quarrel, Martina takes advantage of her partner being on a business trip and flees to Chile with her son. In little to no time, she manages to disappear into thin air. For Marco, that is the beginning of an ordeal, as he can’t find his kid. No one is able to find Martina, neither a famous lawyer nor the police, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or an association of separated fathers. Exasperated by almost one year of vain attempts, Marco decides to face that powerlessness situation and leave for Santiago de Chile. Once in the South American metropolis, Marco meets one of his colleagues, lawyer Ramos, who advises him to hire a private investigator, Carlos. He immediately proves to be a very skilled and capable professional, but every turn leeds them to a dead point. Mateo and Martina seem like the desaparecidos were during the time of the dictatorship. After having roamed the cold and hostile city unsuccessfully, Carlos can find Martina. The appointment with Marco is in a bar. Martina looks different, she is well groomed and much more self-confident. What has not changed is her resentiment against her former partner. In order for Marco to see his son, Martina proposes a compromise, but her conditions are too harsh and Marco can’t do anything but reject it. As result of no agreement, Martina calls Marco to court accusing him of presumed abuses suffered by her and their child, in Italy. Marco is incredulous, his former partner has changed and is unricognisable, now he is forced to stand up for himself 15000 km far from home and, most importantly, he has not even managed to see Mateo yet. Ramos suggests Marco to leave Chile. In fact, if the allegations were to be proven, first of all he could never see his son again and, in addition, the penalties would be very grim. Nonetheless, Marco decides to stay and uses his intuition to deduce where Matina lives and even the wherabout of his son’s school. One day, while following Mateo and the nanny on their way home, Marco observes a brief moment when the child is left alone. With Carlos’ help, Marco finds a way to escape Chile. If everything goes as planned, within three days, he and his son could be in Italy. It’s the day for the action. As expected, the nanny leaves the kid alone for a moment. As Marco is about to take his son, Mateo turns and looks at him. In that infinitesimal fraction of time, the glance of his son is enough for him to abandon his plane. Marco has no choice but to wait for the verdict of the trial.