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Midnight Family

Dir: Luke Lorentzen, 2019, Mexico, Spanish with English subtitles, 81 minutes, Cert: 15

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Tue 3 March 2020 // 20:00

Tickets: £5 (full) / £4 (concession)

In Mexico City, the government operates fewer than 45 emergency ambulances for a population of 9 million. This has spawned an underground industry of for-profit ambulances often run by people with little or no training or certification.

The Ochoa family runs a for-profit ambulance, competing with other EMTs for patients in need of urgent help. While making a living in this cut-throat industry, they struggle to keep their financial needs from jeopardizing the people in their care. When a crackdown by corrupt police forces the family to try legitimizing their operation, their desperate financial situation pushes them into questionable practices even as they continue providing essential emergency medical services.

In humanizing the Ochoas’ ethically compromised business, Midnight Family explores urgent questions around healthcare, the failings of government and the complexity of personal responsibility.

Guardian ★★★★
CineVue ★★★★
Little White Lies ★★★★