In the early 1970's in Spain, 9-year-old Ana witnesses her father dying in the midst of an affair with his lover. Her mother had died painfully some time earlier, so ten-year-old Ana, her 6- and 13-year-old sisters, and her mute grandmother are given to the custody of Ana's aunt Paulina and her maid Rosa.

It's summer, and Ana spends her days taking care of her hamster, listening to the one and only record she has, and helping Rosa, who has also been one of her father's conquests. Aunt Paulina is making an attempt to be a good caretaker, but Ana rejects even the modest warmth that Paulina offers, feeling she's trying to replace her mother. Ana also feels guilty because she thinks she has poisoned her father by feeding him what she believes was poison.

In several flashbacks we learn about Ana's mother. We see that she was terminally ill, but had returned home from the hospital. Ana had to see her dear mother suffer in pain and witnessed her father's neglect and indifference toward his wife. Ana however finds comfort in reflecting on the fonder moments between her and her mother. As the story goes on, Ana has to cope with the concept of death and its irreversibility numerous times, and we see Ana facing the subject in the interaction with her grandmother, and when playing with her sisters.

For a large part of the film we see Ana, played by Ana Torrent, looking into distance with her big, sad eyes full of expression. The rare instances when we see her smile involve her imagining her mother. We don't see much in way of expressions on Ana's face, but she does very well with her solemn looks.

Music plays an important part in the film. Jeanette's song Porque te vas, which was a big hit in Spain when the film came out, gives Ana power and comfort only to fall back in sad remembrance of the tune her mother used to play.

Acting is fine across the board, and production values are what you'd expect of a film from the 70's. The plot is hard to analyze, because I'm not sure there is any in the classical sense. Through the movie I waited for the situation to further develop and reach some kind of climax – and then the movie, suddenly, ended.

I'll leave analysis of the metaphor between this film and the death of Spain's dictator for those who really know about the subject. This film is a beautifully sad story about a less-than-happy childhood, with much more focus on the sad part. Perhaps there exists people who, unlike me, find this kind of stuff uplifting, but regardless, it's hard not to appreciate the kind of honesty the approach allows.