To make a film about a poet, it is necessary to move away from all cinematographic purpose, all technical language, all aestheticizing intention; we should just think like him, in terms of image and animism, of arrow and spell. The film in question will then be a tree and every facet of his work a branch, the trunk his life. Thus this incipient metaphor will evolve in the form of the film, the body of the image is henceforth encircled by the cortex of sound, whose independent relief segregates its own layers of meaning, the cavities through which the silence of an army of ants searches for its center.

The dictator Anastasio rules with an iron fist backed by business-men making deals and speeches about building canals, completely disconnected from the chaos amongst the population. Anastasio is rumored to have died after an incident with a mirror and a violent confrontation after literally crowing as a cock amongst his chicken followers. The afterlife is shown as a casino where Anastasio strong-arms his way into heaven. Divination is used to find the next dictator, and a sailor and his black, peasant sidekick find themselves attempting to start a revolution with an organ, dragging it through the countryside, as the movie explores the country, culture and music.

A couple faces various difficulties due to the new realities that accompany the triumph of the Cuban Revolution.

In a most unusual, near menage a trois, Charlotte is a terrified young singer who is forced to hide out at the home of her ex-boyfriend -- her current male companion has been murdered in his apartment, and she fears the worst. The trouble is that Mathieu, her ex, is happily living with his new love Christine.