Synopsis
David, a young man aged around 18, tired of feeling left out of his mother’s new living setup, decides to spend the summer with his father in the city. He’s lost in a broken family, a situation occurring more and more in today’s world, where the new generations of parents put their own comfort before the wellbeing of their children with the result of contemporary society directly witnessing unhappy households in which everyday living together is a difficult task.
David’s arrival means yet another problem for his father Angel, who hasn’t seen his son since he was a child and can barely hide his feelings; the fact that they hardly know each other isn’t helped by the difficulties suffered by Angel’s removal company as it tries to keep up with his standard of living in a middle-upper class housing estate. Angel, emotionally drained, tries to pretend he’s something he’s not, having become a slave of a self-invented image in the attempt to feel less vulnerable in a cruel society that discriminates mediocrity.
On the other hand, Angel’s relationship with Stella, an attractive estate agent asphyxiated by his morbid, constant jealousy, is threatened by a new situation that has him worried; Stella gets on well with David, giving Angel yet another reason for suspicion.
Esteban, the 50 year old estate handyman, can hardly make ends meet due to feeding most of his wages and tips into the slot machines at his local bars. A work accident suffered by his workmate obliges him to employ his son, Mario, a young boy who can’t stand his father’s submissive attitude towards the estate tenants each time they demand something of him.
Arguing that he has to do something to keep him busy during summer, Angel takes David to the house of an elderly client, Domingo, who lives in a big run-down house
that his diminishing income can’t maintain. Helping the man for a few days to pack the books that he’s sold from his enormous collection introduces David to a bright, disillusioned character who shares his life with an invalid who spends his days sitting in the sun in the overgrown garden and is cared for by Maria, a brazen, lively young girl.
David and Mario meet when the latter comes to help fix a leak in the swimming pool at Angel’s house, and it’s not long before Mario comes up with plans for the two of them to make easy money, leading David to uncover a situation that complicates things: his father makes extra money on the side with a not altogether legitimate setup, obliging David to choose between looking the other way or getting involved, although he’s unsure of the effect that the whole thing will have on their lives.
“Las huellas del agua” is a tale of stories occurring in modern life the world over describing people who show passiveness with respect to the inertia of an increasingly inhumane society.