Beginning of the 20th Century, during the Philippine-American War. A garrison under the command of US Lieutenant Compton is left to ‘protect’ San Isidro, a remoted region located in the Philippines.
Compton is fair and sympathetic, but his job is to pacify the area, not to make the natives happy. He can only communicate with Rafael, the Head of the barrio, through the Machiavellian friar Hidalgo who’s the only one to understand English and who bears a deep resentment towards Rafael.
Neither side can understand or trust the other, but are forced to live together, trying to survive in the middle of a ‘dirty’ war. When the American occupation policy gets tougher, Rafael has to answer to both the Americans and the Filipino patriots- with deadly consequences.
Two American privates killed three Filipino soldiers in a suburb of Manila; the incident turned into a bloody war that lasted two years. The Philippines Army used guerilla tactics to make up for being under-equipped to face the overwhelming American forces.
The film comes from the novel Some Time in the Sun, detailing U.S. Imperialism in the Philippines.
"At the first two screenings, John Sayles and Joel Torre will be in attendance to introduce the film. You will see Chris Cooper and Garret Dillahunt on at least one of those days."
