Oro Amargo by Juan Francisco Olea is set in the unforgiving Atacama Desert, where young Carola and her father Pacífico secretly operate a gold mine. When Pacífico is injured during a violent confrontation, Carola must take charge and defend the mine against greedy miners.
Chilean director Juan Francisco Olea describes his film as a neo-western that breaks with the traditional patterns of the genre. Instead of a male hero, he focuses on a young woman who resists arbitrariness, misogyny and abuse of power in a macho culture.