Rallo understands that to tell a story about the Wild West is to tell a story of fate and morality. In his eponymous directorial debut, Santiago, he playfully re-purposes the form of the Western myth to deconstruct his own persona, simultaneously raising questions about the effects of globalization and class.

Rallo's protagonist, reminiscent of the archetypal lost cowboy, is not wandering through the vast, untamed Western landscape but is instead an international "third culture kid." Though enriched by his varied…