Lourdes Portillo and Susan Muñoz ’s documentary reflects on the pre-Hispanic roots of el Dia de los Muertos, and then looks at the present-day celebration in Oaxaca, Mexico, and its permutations in the United States. Interviews with the peo ple of Oaxaca, and with Mexican-American scholars, psychologists, and artists illuminate the social dimensions of death and their complex cultural underpinnings.