Lucrecia Martel is back, nine years after The Headless Woman, to tackle colonialism in the New World.  Zama, an officer of the Spanish Crown born in South America, waits for a letter from the King granting him a transfer from the town in which he is stagnating, to a better place.  His situation is delicate. He must ensure that nothing overshadows his transfer. Diego’s tribulations are almost worthy of a Christian martyr except that he is suffering for sins of his own making.