Juan Silva-Escobar wrote in
Izquierdas that the film opens with a sign that reads: "At the end of the eighties, one in three young Chileans fell into the category of what we commonly call marginalized." He goes on to set the narrative for the movie: after the credits roll, we see a vacant lot occupied by four young men; lounging around on a tire, a piece of cardboard, an old beach chair, and a sofa. One of the boys is sniffing glue, while another is tossing stones at a glass of water on the hood of a car. "It's hot. The space is dry and suffocating. It is a deserted urban space where these marginalized young people spend the afternoon, the days."
Patricia Rivadeneira opined that "Justiniano has the extraordinary ability to discover talents and also to tell great, endearing stories that go beyond the political, the contingent, and that endure over time." In 1991 it became the first Chilean film to be nominated for the
Goya Award in the category of best
Ibero-American film. Magda Eriz wrote in
Alpha that this "is a film from the early stages of the Chilean transition that depicts the state of the population after the dictatorship." They go on to state the film shows "unemployed youth who steal and make some money from the illegal sale of marijuana." ==See also==