Seven-year-old Sol (Sentes) lives with her mother Lucia (Larios) but desperately misses her father Tona (Elizondo), a mortally ill painter who has moved back to his childhood home to receive care from a devoted nurse (Sanchez) and his various sisters. Sol arrives there for Tona’s birthday party, and amidst the chaos of aunts, uncles, cousins and various pets, only wants to catch a glimpse of her Dad, who is quietly suffering in his room. Seen through Sol’s impressionable eyes, we watch as she tries to grasp the complicated adult world around her, sensing a sadness and tension she can’t fully understand.

Touching, perceptive drama explores the messiness of a tight-knit, dysfunctional brood trying to navigate choppy waters. The adults in the family know Tona is dying, also that funds to treat his illness have run out. This is all kept from the children, including the watchful Sol, who just wants to be with her ailing Dad. (Their reunion breaks your heart.) However it’s not all downbeat; Tona’s party attests to the love he inspires in his tight circle of family and friends. Using some non-professionals and frequent improvisation, this intimate film almost feels like a documentary, and that’s very much a compliment. Don’t miss the illuminating “Totem.”