This rather depressing film is reminiscent of - although better than - the Sigourney Weaver film Death and the Maiden, in that it deals with the psychological effects inflicted by torture and deprivation on political prisoners. The film starts well, catching all the fervour and turmoil of a country in revolution as journalist Laura Dern and her photographer lover (Jay O Sanders) find their attempts to contact a rebel leader only earn them status as political prisoners. Later the story develops into a different, less riveting sort of film, when Dern, with Sanders dead, finds herself at a centre for survivors of political imprisonment and torture. Good, slightly unsettling performances from Raul Julia (his last) and Vanessa Redgrave, but Dern struggles with her central role.

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