Laia (the beautiful rising star Verónica Echegui), an idealistic young teacher who’s volunteering at a school in Kathmandu, is primed to put her progressive teaching methods into practice and improve the lives of the kids. To call the teaching standards at her school "old-fashioned" is to be kind—rote learning is the norm and corporal punishment is the means. She proposes setting up a separate class, with her in charge, but cultural traditions—the caste system, for one—and bureaucracy (read: corruption) hamper her at every turn. Determined to make a difference, and with her visa expiring, she decides to marry Tshiring (Norbu Tsering Gurung), the local man she’s been emotionally sparring with…

Director Icíar Bollaín—herself a proponent of socially progressive cinema—has teamed up with frequent Ken Loach collaborator Paul Laverty on the screenplay (loosely based on a real story), and the film reflects their mutual desire to meld affecting cinema with a message about the possibilities (or lack thereof) for change. Echegui is a revelation, navigating a role that is both physically demanding and emotionally draining. Bollaín, who scored an international hit with Even the Rain, keeps her style grounded in the social realism one expects, but she has an artist’s eye. She "lets the clear mountain light bring out a full range of startling color, [while] the endlessly fascinating street scenes are beautifully done…"—Variety