Carla's Song

Scott Glenn appears only late in the story, yet he and his character, former CIA agent Bradley, who now works for a human rights organization during the Contras’ guerrilla war against Nicaragua’s Sandinista government, occupy the center of Ken Loach’s film »Carla’s Song« (1996). During a drive through Glasgow, bus driver George, played by Robert Carlyle, meets Carla (Olyanka Cabezas), who comes from Nicaragua, for the first time. Over time, he manages to build a relationship with her and eventually convinces her to return to her homeland with him to confront her personal demons. In the midst of the war, they encounter Bradley, who ultimately opens George’s eyes to the political reality of Central America. In this way, Ken Loach’s melancholic portrait of a love affair during wartime transforms into a passionate plea against the United States’ neocolonial foreign policy.