Homelands

Homelands is a portrait of a marriage, the story of Maria and Carlos, refugees from the war in El Salvador who have settled in suburban Melbourne. Seven years have passed. Like many migrant women in new social circumstances, Maria has flourished. Carlos has not. Formerly a teacher, he can only find work as a cleaner. When peace suddenly arrives in El Salvador, Carlos and Maria, like thousands of others, have to choose between their new and old homelands. Carlos chooses to go back immediately to help re-build his country. Maria and their four children decide to remain in Australia. Six months later with no sign of Carlos returning, Maria decides to re-visit El Salvador, both to find Carlos and to confront her past. When she arrives she finds the tables have turned. Carlos is feeling self-fulfilled while she has come to feel out of place. This tension and other events test their marriage to the limits. Even the filmmaker is drawn into the process.