During the colonial period, a man buys a small piece of land in Mendoza and marries a slave woman. The dry and arid climate harms the yield of the land from it. In need of money to buy the freedom of his spouse, he decides to undertake the task of building with his own hands a kilometric ditch that carries water from the river to his fields.
The charming Mr. Sampat weaves his way into theatrical company with his moneymaking schemes, only to cause the everyone involved to go bankrupt, including Malini, the young actress who has fallen in love with him.
Smuggler's Ball is the English-language title for this French-Belgian seriocomedy. The action takes place along the borders separating Belgium, Holland and France.
A tough customs man, out to get a youth smuggling tobacco into France across the Belgium border, falls for the jaded ex bar hostess the smuggler lives with.
