Mexican filmmakers Sebastian and Costa, shooting a film in Bolivia about the conquest by Christopher Columbus, become embroiled in controversy when their film schedule runs up against the Cochabamba protests, with local natives rising up against the privatization of their water supply. As the production is beset by more and more problems and the riots escalate, the tension rises between the crew members.  The trouble is that one of the local actors, is a leading activist in the protest movement.

Even the Rain is a movie that explores the differences between the upper and lower classes in Bolivia during the Water War. By comparing the situation with Christopher Columbus and the colonizers exploiting and massacring the Native Americans, Icíar highlights the violence and oppression that took place during the Water War, while simultaneously connecting historical events to those of the present.