Wretched Lives

"Wretched Lives" focuses on Vanessa, a cosmetics consultant who is forced to care for her troubled and mentally challenged sister after the sudden death of their mother. Her hustler boyfriend, Olivier, seems unreliable and Vanessa soon abandons him for Uno, an ostensibly liberal and caring substitute. But Uno isn't exactly as he seems. In fact, he makes Olivier's petty crimes look like a choirboy's indiscretions, underscoring the film's critical premise: the corruption of the political elite and their exploitation of the poor.