Maria's Story

Done in a documentary form, this is really a biography of Maria Serrano, one of the guerrilla forces in the civil strife in El Salvador. Opening in 1988, this film follows Maria; her husband, Jose; and their family and comrades through the horror that has become a way of life to them -- living and dying together in the belief that their cause is worth any sacrifice. Although she only started out as the guide for the filmmakers in their effort to portray the strife in war-torn El Salvadore, her sacrifices and hardships so inspired them that they made their movie into her story, feeling that she embodied the spirit and belief system they were trying to capture with their film.