A bus travels down a dirt road.
A sign on the back reads “Caravana de Madres de Migrantes Desesperados,” or “Caravan of Mothers of Disappeared Migrants” in English. Each woman on the bus wears a makeshift necklace made of a photo of their missing child and a string.
Taking place across Latin America, “A Place of Absence” follows mothers who are searching for their children who have been kidnapped in the immigration process or disappeared by a corrupt government. Through an image of resilient women and fully Spanish dialogue, the film shows the emotional strain of losing a loved one to complex tragedies, and how their presence and absence are felt simultaneously.
The decade-long filming process started when director Marialuisa Ernst and her family found the remains of her tío Guillermo, a resistance leader under the Videla dictatorship in Argentina, who had disappeared over three decades ago. Guillermo was also a musician, and one of his songs anchors the connection to the earth after death throughout the film.
At the beginning of the film, Marialuisa Ernst starts a series of conversations with her mother, Yolanda Ernst, about Guillermo’s disappearance. As Yolanda Ernst speaks to the camera, she tears up. Marialuisa Ernst describes her mother as a joyful, smiling woman, but speaking about her younger brother’s disappearance unearths unspoken grief, as she felt a sense of protectiveness over him.
Marialuisa Ernst grapples with her own generational trauma by exploring how other women navigate the unimaginable territory of searching for a loved one.
Leticia Martinez, a member of the caravan, had been looking for her daughter for 14 years. When she first joined the group, her desperation to find her recently kidnapped daughter was palpable in her face, evidenced by lingering signs of a stroke.
“Por favor, ayudanos,” or “Please help us,” another mother pleads, her voice cracking with heartache.
She is looking for her child. Others, some part of the caravan and some not, are looking for their sisters, brothers or uncles. They scour Latin America, asking community members for signs of their missing children.
Anita Zelaya is another mother searching for her child who disappeared. Throughout the film, she doesn’t remove the photo of him from around her neck. After several attempts, Zelaya eventually got an American visa since she knew her son was immigrating to the U.S.
Zelaya encounters Bob, a local living on the Mexican-American border. They begin a hike through the desert, where Bob points out crosses on unmarked graves of immigrants. They share an embrace, and the gravity of the moment crosses their language barrier as they cry together.
Across Latin America, la Caravana de Madres de Migrantes Desesperados serves as both a place for reunion with family members and for empathy. For Martinez, Zelaya and the other mothers, confronting the absence of their children is a harsh reality, but they refuse to give up the search.
As the film comes to a close, Martinez prepares to see her daughter after 14 years. A woman applies her makeup, a moment of joy in anticipation. When Martinez and her daughter reunite, they cling to each other like magnets, prompting tears from the audience.
One of the final scenes is in New York, Marialuisa Ernst’s current home, in a forest she and her daughter, Gia, often explore. It’s the location where Gia buried a bone from tío Guillermo’s remains, connecting him back to the Earth. Guillermo’s song croons as the scene shifts to Yolanda Ernst, Marialuisa Ernst and Gia lying under the trees, existing in each other’s grief for a brother and uncle lost to political violence.
“Llego a mi tierra querida para descansar,” the song goes.
I return to my beloved land to find rest.
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