FILM SCREENINGS

The Heart of Jesus

2003. Bolivia. Written and directed by Marcos Loayza. With Augustin Mendieta, Melita del Carpio, Julio Kempf. Coproduction with Chile. In this pitch-black satire, selfish civil servant Jesús Martinez suffers a heart attack as the nation's economy plunges. Abandoned by his wife and stuck with hospital bills he can't afford, he assumes the identity of a terminally ill patient with the same name, and settles into the ward intending to live off the insurance coverage. At once morbid and poignant, the humor stares poverty straight in the face, offering a stinging critique of Bolivia's hospital system and unjust bureaucracy. In Spanish; English subtitles. 88 min.