No. 59. (2019) Midnight Family. July 6th.

Film No 59 (2019) July 6th.  6:20 PM  LUNA PALACE Leederville. 

Luna Revelation film Festival Perth Western Australia July 4th - 17th.

 

"We'll beat them because they turned back there". (The commentary from a brother as they rush to a scene in the hope of beating another ambulance in competition for the job).

Rightfully so, the awards have flowed for this dramatic and WTF feature documentary. I say WTF because I had no idea the the dense urban sprawl of Mexico City (9 million) had less than 45 government provided ambulances and the shortfall, which is great, is made up for by private emergency vehicles. There is a compliance checklist they must meet and it's not easy to do so. Our fly on the wall ride with the Ochoa family (shot by director Luke Lorentzen) gives an insight into what people will do to eke out an existence for such little return over such long hours in a sometimes dangerous world of high emotion. Film goers with a fascination for watching cinema depicting "how the other half lives" shouldn't miss Midnight Family. Oh and the lead  performer here is the 17 year old son, Juan. A born leader who drives like a demon and negotiates like a Wall Street trader; one wonders if this small under performing enterprise would survive without his charismatic skills. 10GUMS.