Rating: TV-MA | Runtime: 103 minutes
Release Date: October 6th, 2022 (Colombia) / January 4th, 2023 (USA)
Studio: Cine Colombia / Netflix
Director(s): Laura Mora Ortega
Writer(s): Maria Camila Arias & Laura Mora Ortega

In my own perfect world, if you don’t want to exist, you don’t have to.

Laura Mora Ortega’s The Kings of the World is in many respects a ghost story about five lost souls fending for themselves with machetes on the streets of Medellín who leave in search of the life that was taken from them when the government seized miles and miles of land from their people to mine gold. Ra (Carlos Andrés Castañeda) has finally seen the fruits of his grandmother’s labor thanks to the court’s ruling in their favor as far as reclaiming her property. So he, Sere (Davison Florez), Winny (Cristian Campaña), Nano (Brahian Acevedo), and Culebro (Cristian David Duque) set off to take that which should always have been theirs.

Ortega and Maria Camila Arias’ script starts with the boys’ kinetic exploits in Medellín and continues with the liberating fun that ensues when hitching rides on truck beds and taking shelter in brothels. But as the camera steadies from handheld origins, the danger mounts. The closer they get to their destination—a sort of wild west ruled by oppressive entities willing to kidnap and kill any trespassers—the more difficult and seemingly futile their adventure becomes. Ra and his “kids” must survive outside figures, the betrayal of one of their own, and the same corrupt political system that displaced them in the first place.

And all the while they meet kind souls ready to lend a hand too. The “crazies” left to fend for themselves and the stubborn specters of a long-gone past still clinging to the charred remains of what had once been paradise. It’s a pretty dark drama with wishes being granted in unintended ways as spirits ride the Colombian rivers to the ocean to free themselves from the burden of an existence forever on the impoverished fringes. In some regards it leads to a tragic ending for boys who had possessed energy and life to spare. But it’s also an inspirational battle cry since all they really wanted was something to fight for. Something that was theirs to protect no matter the cost.

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Carlos Andrés Castañeda and Brahian Acevedo in THE KINGS OF THE WORLD.