“Kings of the World”: a powerful and painful Colombian road movie – Culture News in Part One

Title: Kings of the world
direction: Laura Mora Ortega
Script: Maria Camila Arias and Laura Mora Ortega
Type: drama
degree: 3 out of 5

The five teenage boys In the movie “Kings of the World” he resembles a pile of fox cubs when they wrestle. But with a machete. They are street children in Medellin, Colombia when one of them receives a certificate that he inherited a plot of land from his grandmother. The state is now managing the process of returning land to those whose lands were stolen by paramilitary forces.

The handheld camera is close and jerky and, combined with the distorted street sounds, creates an immediate powerful pressure. The younger boy was stabbed in the upper arm. Everything is going fast. Food and sleep are rare. I can’t seem to sit on the sidewalk even for a second. They are human children but no one wants them.

When the boys make their way out of town by climbing into the bed of a moving truck, it’s still a relief. The cobblestones have been replaced by mountain massifs and green, moist forests. The gang releases the cows and knocks out the street lights. Almost everyone they meet hates them. Except for a strange collection of prostitute tales. It is difficult as a spectator to know what is the fantasy of the glue sniffer or the reality of the film. The radiant ladies clean the wounds, let the group sleep, and serve breakfast. But they have to continue towards Grandma’s house in the distant greenery.

“Kings of the World” is a painful movie to watch. Relentlessly powerful.

Nina Asarnoy
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