“There’s a reason for every line of work. If no one got sick, there would be no doctors. If no one died, there would be no morticians. If no one littered, there would be no garbage men. All these things create jobs. That’s the truth.” -Juan Ochoa
Luke Lorentzen’s Midnight Family showcases the fragmented healthcare administration in Mexico City. Lorentzen sets the tone for the documentary by revealing there are fewer than 45 emergency ambulances for Mexico City’s 9 million residents, which leaves the bulk of emergency vehicles in the hands of private operators. Midnight Family follows the lives of the Ochoa family, who by day seem like an average family, but by night run a private ambulance racing against time and other EMTs to save lives. Juan Ochoa is only seventeen, yet he leads the family business. Even little brother Josue helps set up the equipment while still being in elementary school. Their work is grueling, dangerous, and often results in little pay, but without people like the Ochoa family, Mexico City would degenerate into chaos.
The documentary offers plenty of social commentary, but does so without feeling like propaganda. Lorentzen does not shy away from revealing the corrupt law enforcement, who enforce bribes to keep from shutting down private ambulances. A great point of tension in the film is the chafing between what is lawful and what is right, which are not always on the same side. The film also touches sensitive issues like domestic violence and child neglect. Lorentzen is careful not to commodify such controversial topics, but rather demonstrate how embedded they are in society. The documentary also shows the irony in the private ambulance business. The Ochoa family makes a living off of the mortality of others. Although they aim to save their patients, if no one got hurt, they would have no line of work. This juxtaposition between mortality and survival is prevalent throughout the film, particularly in the mind of Juan, who seeks to rationalize their career as part of the natural balance of the world.
Juan has barely turned seventeen and is already leading the family business. His youth and his responsibility are two faces of a coin. In one shot he is reprimanding his kid brother for neglecting his homework, and in the next he meticulously styles his hair to perfection. Though it is never explicitly stated, Juan likely did not finish high school in order to take over the family business. Juan’s self-assurance easily distracts the audience from the fact that he is still very young. As impressive as it may be, the audience must wonder about the cost of growing up too fast.
In terms of cinematography, the film employs a variety of shots from tracking shots, hand held shots, and point of view shots to both submerse the audience as a character in the film and alienate the audience from the narrative. These two branches of involvement allow the audience to empathize with the Ochoa family and analyze their lifestyle as an outsider. The pacing also has a dual perspective: it alternates from slow, idyllic monotony to high speed turbulence in the face of a job or a run in with cops. The switch can be jarring, but holds a sense of realism in how life is generally unpredictable.
Midnight Family is piquant without trying too hard to be, instead, letting the stories of real people help the audience to understand the current situation in Mexico City. The film never really provides an answer to Mexico City’s problems, but allows the audience to see what daily living is like in a broken system, and how despite the brokenness, its residents have the tenacity to survive. Midnight Family is a beautifully solemn documentary that shows how it’s often the poor working class who are the unsung heroes of broken government administration.
5/5 STARS