Ruta del Jaca (2009)

An unpaved road movie from Peru

In the late 1980's, during Peru's bloody internal conflict, an American couple traveled through the countryside looking for alternative healers to treat the woman's terminal illness. On that fateful trip, they vanished completely. At the time, local authorities claimed they had been kidnapped and killed by communist insurgents of the Shining Path movement. 20 years later, their son retraces their steps in an intriguing and sometime bizarre trip to visit Shamans in Andean remote villages as well as deep in the Amazon jungle. Matt is looking for people that might have known his parents, and undergoes some of the same treatments his mother had received. Ruta del Jaca is a kaleidoscopic film that blurs the distinction between documentary and fiction. The spectacular beauty of the Peruvian countryside is splashed throughout the feature. A special role is reserved for the immensely popular "Folklor" singer Sonia Morales.