Los Lobos is a heartfelt and poignant drama that offers a deeply personal look into the lives of a Mexican immigrant family as they try to build a new life in the United States. Directed by Samuel Kishi Leopo, the film centers on the journey of Lucía (Martha Reyes Arias), a mother, and her two young sons, Max (Maximiliano Nájar Márquez) and Leo (Leonardo Nájar Márquez). The story is told almost entirely from the perspective of the children, giving the audience a unique and innocent viewpoint on the complex struggles of immigration.
The movie begins as Lucía and her two boys arrive in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They find themselves in a tiny, rundown apartment with peeling wallpaper and worn-out furniture. This small space, their new home, becomes the entire world for Max and Leo. Their mother, Lucía, is forced to leave them alone for long periods while she works grueling hours at various jobs to make ends meet, from cleaning offices to working in a factory. To keep them occupied and out of trouble, she sets strict rules: don’t make too much noise, don't leave the apartment, and learn English from a series of audio tapes she leaves for them.
The film masterfully captures the brothers' sense of isolation and their attempts to make a world of their own within the confines of their apartment. They spend their days playing games, drawing pictures on the walls, and dreaming of the future. Their biggest dream is to one day visit Disneyland, a promise their mother made to them as a glimmer of hope for a better life. The audio tapes their mother leaves them become a central motif of the film, a way for them to connect to the outside world and a symbol of their mother's hope for their future assimilation and success.
As they are forbidden from going outside, the boys' windows become their only view of the new world they inhabit. They watch their neighbors, a diverse and often loud group of people, and fantasize about what their lives are like. The camera often stays at their eye-level, immersing the audience in their limited perspective and heightening the sense of their small, confined world. The performances by Maximiliano and Leonardo Nájar Márquez are remarkable, as they bring a natural and genuine chemistry to the screen. Their sibling banter and quiet moments of fear and joy feel entirely authentic.
Los Lobos is a beautifully shot and deeply moving film that uses its simple premise to explore powerful themes of family, resilience, and the immigrant experience. It's not a film filled with grand dramatic events, but rather a collection of small, intimate moments that reveal the immense emotional toll of starting over in a new country. The movie is a tribute to the quiet strength of immigrant mothers like Lucía and the resilience of children who, even in the face of immense hardship, hold on to hope and the promise of a better tomorrow.
Los Lobos is a 2020 drama with a runtime of 1 hour and 35 minutes.
It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.2.
