This outrageous comedy stages a soap opera of epic proportions, as one corrupt property developer faces trial for Mexico's violent history. The fourth feature from Santiago Mohar Volkow, Una historia de amor y guerra centres on real estate baron Pepe Sánchez-Campo, whose mega-mall development brings him into conflict with local guerrillas. For once, bribery and a call to Daddy might not be enough to save Pepe – a character more grotesque than the telenovela unfolding around him. Trying to sabotage Pepe's marriage to Constanza, her cousin and lover Teo records Pepe cheating. The resulting chaos precipitates in a burlesque bloodbath involving treachery, talking animals, colonial history and bartering in the afterlife.
Andrea, a successful veterinarian who loves her job and is in a relationship with Lucio, an up-and-coming lawyer who grew up in the country. Lucio has some news for Andrea: his mother is turning 60 and is throwing a big party to celebrate. Andrea visits the town where Lucio was raised for the first time and would like to become very close to his family, especially her new Mother-in-law Blanca, who is an overprotective mother, ultra-conservative and always thinks she’s right about everything. Andrea tries to fit in by tolerating all her quirks and harsh treatment during the torturous weekend.
The story unfolds around the year 1860. Louis, a photographer, convinces the general of the French Army to send him to Mexico to photograph the colonial war that is ravaging the country. Once he is there, nothing goes as planned. Never in the right place at the right time to see the battles, Louis can't snap a single picture of the war. But his encounter with Pinto, a Mexican peasant, changes his destiny. It leads him to discover neither glory nor wealth, but a way to confront the ghosts of his past.
On her first night in the city, Jen meets Todd; she spends the night with him, only to discover he has already departed the morning after. Two years on, Todd reappears and disrupts the life Jen has created with her new boyfriend, Ethan. Tensions build and feelings resurface with a newfound fervor as Jen and Todd are inescapably drawn to each other, almost as if against their better judgment, struggling to find themselves and each other in the eternally changing city.