The Wolves (Los Lobos)
Ajyal Competition
Samuel Kishi Leopo / Feature Narrative / Mexico / 2019 / 95 min
In Cantonese, English, Spanish / Arabic, English subtitles
Interests: Coming of age, Drama, Live Action
MENA Premiere
Synopsis
Together with their mother Lucia, brothers Max and Leo have just crossed the border from Mexico into the United States of America in search of a better life. But it is not easy for them to gain a foothold in their new home country. Lucía tries her best to make ends meet by doing odd jobs, and while she is at work, the two brothers spend their days building an imaginary universe with their drawings and think about mom’s promise of one day going to Disneyland—their land of dreams.
In the film, the elusive Disneyland stands as the ultimate promise of a seemingly unattainable paradise for the children. There is an almost fairytale feel to the boys’ lives as they spend their days locked in a room, hoping for a magic lamp or similar fantastical trope to whisk them away to a better world. But real life is not like that, especially for an immigrant single mother. Director Samuel Kishi Leopo recalls aspects of his own childhood in ‘The Wolves’ and this empathy shows in what is a tender retelling of a mother doing her best to survive adversity—fiercely honest, pessimistic at times, yet also full of hope.
Credits
- Director
- Samuel Kishi Leopo
- Screenwriter
- Samuel Kishi Leopo, Sofía Gómez Córdoba, Luis Briones
- Producer
- Inna Payán Stoupignan, Leticia Carrillo Silva
- Editor
- Yordi Capó, Carlos Espinoza Benítez, Samuel Kishi Leopo
- Production Designer
- Hania Robledo
- Co-Producer
- Mónica Lozano, Samuel Kishi Leopo
- Music
- Kenji Kishi Leopo
- Cinematographer
- Octavio Arauz
- Sales Company
- FiGa Films
- Production Company
- Animal de luz
- Sound
- Mario Martínez Cobos
- Cast
- Martha Reyes Arias, Maximiliano Nájar Márquez, Leonardo Nájar Márquez, Cici Lau, Johnson T. Lau