Amat Escalante’s Lost in the Night feels like an amalgam of Mexican films I have seen over the past few years.

It has the dreamy remoteness of Robe of Gems (2022), the ordinary person powerless against machismo of La Civil (2021) and the dogged determination of a son of La Caja (2021).

Set in a beautiful and desolate Mexican landscape, a Canadian mine is causing dissension in a community. Bringing much-needed jobs, those who speak up about its damage to the health of workers and the environment are vilified. This includes the abduction of the mother of Emiliano (Juan Daniel Garcia Trevino who was in two of the aforementioned films).

Three years later, he gets a clue as to her disappearance from a policeman that leads him to the isolated mansion of celebrity singer Carmen (Bárbara Mori) and contemporary artist Rigoberto (Fernando Bonilla). Taken under their wing as a handyman, Emiliano strikes up a rapport with Carmen’s death and social media obsessed daughter, Monica (Ester Expósito).

There are twists and turns, outrageous corruption, unexpected kindness, and some beautiful visual set pieces that attempt to elevate this from being a run-of-the-mill ‘who done it’. Emiliano does a decent job as an every man fighting the system with right on his side.

As we reached a somewhat satisfying, although contrived resolution, I couldn’t help feeling the result was less than the sum of its parts. The characters of Carmen, Rigoberto and Monica seem designed to further the plot with stylish effect, rather than as realistic components of a kind of story playing out every day in Mexico.

Director: Amat Escalante
Origin: Denmark, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands (2023)
Language: Spanish with English subtitles
Genre: Drama , Thriller

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