Los Lobos

As if it were a fable whispered in your ear by a soothing voice, 'Los Lobos' ("The Wolves") radiates melancholic warmth with its story of a mother and her sons starting from scratch in a foreign land. Told with unassuming force by Samuel Kishi Leopo, the Mexican director’s second semi-autobiographical feature shows a Mexican family emigrating to the USA. A young mother uses the promise of a trip to ‘Disney’ to persuade her two young sons that the long days they spend locked in a room in Albuquerque is the better life they had all hoped for. Max is responsible for his younger brother while their mother is working during the day and gives them a set of rules. To understand his mother’s motivations, he will try and think like an adult. They are not allowed to leave the apartment, which makes the walls some sort of projection screen for their imaginative adventures. In the form of animated segments, we see their imaginary alter egos, the ‘ninja wolves’. 

When the boys finally leave the room, there’s a sense of freedom – the skies open up once more – but with it comes the threat of reality.

Strikingly shot and appealingly acted by the two children, Los Lobosdeftly blends fiction and documentary elements into a portrait of an immigrant community. The Mexican director does not shy away from the harsh truths, but thanks to the boys’ magic and imagination, we never stray too far from hope, innocence and optimism. A story filled with lived honesty.