Familia de medianoche

The series is a pale and simplistic version that utterly fails to capture the authenticity and depth of the marvelous documentary "Midnight Family" by Luke Lorentzen, which it supposedly draws inspiration from. With an overly contrived language and a clumsy attempt to replicate a "chilango" idiosyncrasy that feels superficial and almost naïve, the production comes across as a prefabricated spectacle rather than a genuine portrayal of the life it aims to depict.

One of the most striking aspects of the documentary is its masterful use of the camera, which is always on, capturing the raw, unfiltered life of this family. The director skillfully removes any visible influence, allowing the viewer to experience one of the most compelling documentaries I've ever seen. In contrast, the series lacks this authenticity and instead delivers an artificial narrative.

It's particularly revealing that the series' director admitted to never watching the documentary to "avoid influencing his version." That statement alone explains the enormous gap between the two works and the resounding failure of the series. What we get instead is mediocre casting, highlighted by the youngest character's performance, which is devoid of charm, grace, or the basic talent needed for the role.

The real drama, spontaneous humor, and authenticity that make the documentary an unmissable masterpiece are completely absent here. It's a shame that such rich material was reduced to a commercialized version that betrays its essence. My recommendation is simple: skip the series and watch the documentary, where reality far surpasses this poor attempt at fiction.

This is a very moving show about a family that runs an "ambulancia pirata"-- an unofficial ambulance -- in Mexico City. There aren't nearly enough of the government-funded official ambulances to service this enormous city of 22 million people. The main characters are a father, daughter and two sons who together operate the ambulance as the family business night after night. They are strong, resourceful and indefatigable. The obstacles they are forced to overcome make me question my own mettle. The cast is great. Veteran actor Joaquín Cosio as the father. Diego Calva as the eldest son. Renata Vaca is the daughter -- who is trying to ride the ambulance at night and attend medical school during the day -- and despite two reviews, I think her performance stands up to those of her co-stars. Finally, Sergio Bautista deftly plays the youngest a boy of perhaps twelve years old. Together they make an authentic family. This show has tremendous heart. One reviewer, who I will comment upon below, trashes the show as soapy, and there is a grain of truth to that -- but just a grain. I suspect that the filmmakers have worked on telenovelas and there are traces of that style -- but just traces -- and they make the show more interesting not less, because while the show appears to emerge from that tradition, the repurpose it to make a very novel drama. It's also a vivid portrait of Mexico City. If you've ever been there, you will feel you are there again. If you haven't you'll know what it's like.

Watch it in its original Spanish with subtitles. A lot is lost in the dubbed version, which is Apple's default. Why Apple? You will have to change the language of both the audio and subtitles (lower right on Apple's player)

Now to review the other reviewers. One pans the show because the hour-long episodes are "too long." They are around an hour long (though some are shorter), but that's the industry standard. They are intense. Can the reviewer not stand the heat? If you don't have the depth to understand something, maybe you shouldn't write a review.

Another panned it as soapy and low-budget. I've already commented on "soapy." This reviewer claims that the injured people in the earthquake episode look as though they'd been slathered with ketchup. Well, not to me. He also complained that there were no "grievous amputation injuries." There was a very grisly compound fracture. But seriously, who watches a show and complains that there aren't enough amputations? I'm going to recommend that this reviewer see a therapist.

Bottom line give this show a chance. You'll be rewarded.

Just watched the first episode, and here's my review:

Positives: The direction is good, the characters are likable, and the concept is interesting. The first episode feels very realistic, with every scene coming across naturally.

Negatives: It's too long. The first episode is over 50 minutes, and there are nine more of the same length, which feels excessive for such a simple story. The show revolves around a family of four who run a private ambulance service. They face challenges in their work, competition from other ambulances, going from the scene of emergencies to hospitals to save lives, while also dealing with personal issues. But, I didn't find anything in this episode that truly hooked me. In this episode, they reached the location of two emergency calls and saved lives. I assume the other episodes will follow a similar format-going to different locations, saving people in various settings and situations. The movie that inspired this series is about as long as just two of this show's episodes, so I don't understand why they stretched it into 10 episodes, each around 50 minutes long.

The overall tone is sad and emotional, but I think they should've added a few light or comedic moments, or at least ended the first episode with a cliffhanger to make it more engaging. The episode didn't have that kind of ending. If you compare it to Netflix's Maid (also based on a real story), Maid was emotional too but had that "what will happen next" element, which is why it became one of my favorite shows. I didn't get that feeling with this show. There's also some abusive language used which wasn't needed.

Overall: Good concept and touching story, but the long episode durations are a huge downside. It's such a big negative that I'm not sure if I'll watch the rest-I'll probably skip it. I haven't watched the documentary, so I can't compare, but I might give that a try. If you're okay with hour-long episodes, liked the trailer, and are interested in the story, you might enjoy it. For me: 2.5/5.

I watched the "earthquake" episode to get a sense of what this series could do if the drama is amped up. My conclusion: middling.

The earthquake isn't very realistically portrayed. The injured people look like someone slathered them with ketchup and left them lying on mats on the street. Where are the grievous amputation injuries? I guess the CGI budget didn't extend that far.

The overall tone is smarmy and soapy. Lots of weepy characters and implied romantic entanglements. The kid gets to play doctor (illegally) and the patient doesn't croak. How nice for him but that kind of thing is a bore for the audience.

Responding the the review From below:

"It's too long."

It's a standard format.

"The first episode is over 50 minutes, and there are nine more of the same length, which feels excessive for such a simple story. "

You've only seen the first episode. What do you mean a simple story? You don't know what else it contains.

"The show revolves around a family of four who run a private ambulance service. They face challenges in their work, competition from other ambulances, going from the scene of emergencies to hospitals to save lives, while also dealing with personal issues."

What is this? A ChatGPT description of the trailer?

Anyway first episode was really well done and touches on important societal issues. Excited to keep watching.