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Monday

What did you do after the war, Daddy? It’s a question Hollywood has yet to pose to the many Iraqi and Afghanistani veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder. And judging from the gap between the Tet Offensive and films like Coming Home, it’s one they won’t ask for years. In the meantime, there’s director and co-writer Josue Mendez’s Días de Santiago, a veteran’s account of a similar kind of conflict: Peru’s dirty war against the Shining Path guerrillas. Widely compared to Taxi Driver, this claustrophobia-inspiring feature follows Santiago Roman, who returns from Army duty to find he has nothing, including prospects. He finds a semblance of home in a Lima slum, becomes a cabbie, and develops a Travis Bickle–like interest in redeeming a gaggle of clubgoing nymphets. As a part of the “Cinema Tropical” series, the film shows at 9:10 p.m. (see Showtimes for weekly schedule) at American Film Institute’s Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. $9.25. (301) 495-6720. (Mark Jenkins)