Carmen was Alexander Payne’s first short film, made while he was studying at UCLA Film School. It is a silent comedy, derived from the opera of the same name. In the film a mentally challenged gas station attendant is put in charge of the store, which leads to love and a tragic-comic end.

An ex-GI gathers together some of his army friends to travel to a Central American dictatorship to free some American POWs being held there.