导演大卫•瓦斯（胡里奥•查维兹Julio Chávez饰）筹拍一部描绘阿根廷巴塔哥尼亚高原和阿劳卡尼亚大区传奇“国王”的电影。筹拍工作困难重重，但最难的是寻找一位最合适的国王扮演者。历经辛苦，全部演员终于敲定，剧组出发前往阿根廷南部的巴塔哥尼亚高原开始拍摄。但正当拍摄任务接近尾声之际，制片人突然撤走资金，众人也被借住的孤儿院扫地出门。大卫•瓦斯拖欠演员工资，却又执意要完成电影拍摄，逼得一直不离不弃的剧组经理阿图罗（尤利西斯•杜蒙特Ulises Dumont 饰）抓狂……
本片是南美魔幻现实主义电影代表作之一，被选为八十年代阿根廷十大佳片，并获威尼斯电影节处女作银狮奖。

Living with his parents, 17-year-old Juan hangs out with several intellectuals who would like to photograph the human soul. The girlfriend of the group's financier is Ana, and Juan is attracted to her, despite the knowledge that she spent two years at a clinic because she was "crazy." Juan sees Ana when he can and trains as a door-to-door salesman, but when the German photographer on the soul project gives him a viewfinder, it changes his life, putting him on the path to his later success as a Hollywood director.