Irma, who speaks Plautdietsch (Low German), Spanish and English, is hired by Diego, the film's director, to act as interpreter and to cook for the crew.

Her thirteen-year-old sister, Aggie, is also emboldened by the presence of the outsiders, and like Irma, comes into dangerous conflict with the local community and her father, who believes that "Art is a lie."

When their father's violence escalates, and the secret tragedy that has haunted her family begins to surface, Irma flees with Aggie and her infant sister, Ximena, to Chihuahua City and Acapulco.

[4] Reygadas invited Toews to do a screen test for the role of Esther, a conservative Mennonite wife, after reading her novel, A Complicated Kindness, and seeing her author photo on the back flap.

Given the geographical and cultural isolation of these settlements, obedience to the ministers and elders of the church is at the center of colony life, and the threat of excommunication into the outside world is much feared.

Irma quickly sees it’s not a loving community, hypocritical like any other, but she spots the possibility of personal redemption of some kind, through art, and its transformative powers.

Catherine E. Wall argues that "Two particularly notable scenes in the sensual and gorgeous Reygadas film—a long hilltop kiss and a family swimming and bathing in an idyllic location—become repulsive in Irma's retelling of the film takes.

"[17] Rachel Shabi, writing for the Guardian, described Irma Voth as "an unexpected mix, switching, sometimes in one sentence, from trapped despair to warm, wry humour.