Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna

Petra removes her shawl to climb a mesquite tree. Her six-year-old sister, Amelia, asks what happened to the pants she used to have. Petra tells her that Abuelita took them away. Amelia tells Petra that Mamá would have let her wear them.

After gathering the wood, Amelia and Petra load it onto the donkey, who Amelia has named Panchito. Amelia asks Petra to promise not to tell Abuelita that she has named the donkey.

Petra thinks back to six months ago when she promised Papá that she would take care of the family just before he was dragged off by the Federales to fight the revolutionaries opposing President Díaz’s reelection. Petra assures Amelia she will not tell Abuelita about the donkey.

Amelia and Petra deliver firewood to patrons around the village. When they pass by a group of women wearing fancy dresses, one of them wrinkles her nose as if she smells something bad.

The girls arrive at the door for their last delivery. They’re met by a wealthy woman who snatches the wood and slams the door in their faces. Angry, Petra knocks on the door to retrieve her payment. The woman’s husband, Don Raúl appears, apologizing and handing money to Petra. He gives an extra coin to Amelia.

On the way home, they see a woman come out of her cottage shouting a boy’s name. Soon, dozens of women are out on the street, crying. One of them tells the girls to run: The Federales are on the way.

Once they get near home, Petra tells Amelia to warn Pablo of the Federales and to hide in the hole in the floor of their hut. Petra grabs an ax and hides it in the waistband of her skirt. The Federales arrive and trash the home, looking for evidence that Pablo, who is eligible to fight in the war, is hiding. When Abuelita suggests that their search is unnecessary, a soldier slaps her. The soldier reports that a boy was seen coming to their hut earlier in the day. He tells them that they must either tell him where the boy is or face the consequences of withholding information.

Before the soldiers leave, one of them inspects Petra’s black rock, her most prized memento of her father, before tossing it over his shoulder. She struggles to keep herself from lurching after it. When they leave, the family checks the hole in the floor of the hut that leads to a hiding spot; Pablo is not there. Soon after, a boy soldier comes to the hut and warns the family that the Federales are going to burn down their house. He tells them to grab what they can and wait for his signal to run. The house is set on fire and the family escapes. Once outside, Petra remembers her black rock and dives back in to retrieve it. The family flees the village without being seen.

Two hours after fleeing their village, Petra and her family are walking through the forest. Abuelita tells the children to look for birds to help lead them to a water source. As the girls gather roots and plants to eat, they come across three makeshift graves.

Back with Abuelita, Amelia says she’s scared of the Federales finding them and about never seeing Papá again. Petra comforts her and tells her everything will be fine. Once the child is asleep, Petra thinks about the promise she made to her father and wonders if she will be able to keep it.

When she wakes up in the forest, Petra hears the crow of a rooster. Realizing it means there is food nearby, she gets up in search of the rooster. She comes upon a church, and runs back to her family to tell them that the church will be able to help them. When they arrive, they are met by a priest. They tell him they no longer have a home after it was burned by the Federales. The priest assures them they will be safe in the church.