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Polgovsky’s stunning debut immerses the viewer in the impoverished lives of families in the arid desert region of San Luis Potosi in Mexico (situated on the global parallel known as Tropic of Cancer), who survive by selling plants and animals to motorists by the side of a thunderous superhighway leading to the United States. The film brings together handheld images of searing potency, crafting an up-close, near-wordless visual essay on the human capacity to adapt to the most adverse circumstances.
“A film as simple and direct as it is powerful, Tropic of Cancer renews the very promise of documentary, reminding us that an engagement with reality can be a revelatory act.” Dennis Lim, Director of Programming of Film at Lincoln Center
"A dazzling work of non-fiction cinema, Eugenio Polgovsky's "Tropic of Cancer" brings an artist's eye to the hard-scrabble existence of families who survive by selling desert plants and animals by the side of a superhighway." Robert Koehler, Variety
