Monte Adentro uses its specialized subject matter (mule driving in the mountains of Colombia) to tell a story full of suspense, reversals, and character. The film begins with a meditative reflection on life in both rural and urban Colombia, with commentary sparsely provided by Blanca, a widow and mother in a muleteer family. Her sons Alonso and Novier personify the contrast between city and country; family history and vérité footage create a dark elegy to a mule-centric past. Hired to carry a household’s fragile furniture through otherwise inaccessible mountains, the brothers load up their mules for a marathon trip. “You are there” mule-driving cinematography makes the wrangling of pack animals and the lashing of household goods into an epic adventure. Observational techniques and natural sound convey the themes of the film cinematically: we’re shown, rather than told, that men, as well as mules, can be treated as beasts of heavy burden.  NK