Eminent Professor Caselli dies unexpectedly, and Marcelo, who has devoted his life to teaching philosophy, expects to become the new Department Head. However, his plans turn upside down with the unexpected arrival of Rafael Sujarchuk. The charismatic and seductive Rafael returns from his pedestal in European universities to claim the vacant position for himself. Marcelo's clumsy efforts to prove he is the right candidate will trigger a philosophical duel, while his life – and the country – enter a spiral of chaos.
“I’ve always enjoyed watching comedy, I love it as a genre, and I like to do what I like to see. So, it was a challenge to shoot a comedy and it came naturally with Maria. It was a good genre to tackle heavy, serious subjects such as death, philosophy, the crisis of the state, etc. all made more digestible with comic lightness. /…/ The trick with the iris as a reminiscence of something burlesque, of silent, elementary, funny and light-hearted cinema that already put you in a tone. And we did it mechanically, by hand, as it was done in silent celluloid.” (María Alché, Benjamín Naishtat)