Midnight Family

Imagine a member of your family. They were injured and they required immediate assistance. So you call for an ambulance. The ambulance showed up. Took care of your family. Drove you both to the hospital. Then they ask you for compensation. Would you be angry with them? Would you take it for granted that if you or your loved ones should fall ill or have an accident that they would get the help they need? The help they are entitled to. Why then would you pay good money for such a service?

This movie tackles this issue head on as we follow the Ochoa family, consisting of a lovable father and his, mature-for-their-age teenage sons, as they burn rubber to be the first paramedics on the scene. It emphatically delves into what it means to be part of a necessary and, what some might call, predatory occupation. Because even after charging large sums for their services, the family barely scrapes by after (required) bribes, legislation, arrests and competition make a dent on their bottom line.

Documentarian Luke Lorentzen is so close up to the action, and shoots so well the astonishing and heartbreaking scenes he encounters that this might be mistaken for a feature film. Few filmmakers would dare or even be able to come as close as Lorentzen does here, which allows him to reveal the ugliness of a system that in the end affects patients the most.

For a documentary it is a rare treat to experience something that is as entertaining as it is eye-opening, making Midnight Family something of a rarity.

A fly on the wall exploration of a family barely surviving by operating a private ambulance in Mexico City. The contradictions are clear. The situations heartbreaking. The humanity obvious. The film making is compelling. A wonderful documentary. Thoroughly recommend.

I watched this documentary at the beginning of the Corona outbreak in Europe. I can't imagine what will happen when Mexico will get hit hard like here. It's probably only a matter of months before there will be hundreds of thousands casualties over there. What a heartbreaking but also heartwarming documentary I just watched. Heartbreaking when you see that in a big country like Mexico they still can't get rid of all those corrupt people. You would think that after so many years they would do something about it but instead you still see policemen bribing people that actually try to save peoples lives. The police is supposed to serve and protect but in a country like Mexico (well not only in Mexico) those b*stards are still allowed to play their dirty games and nobody does anything about it. They should be ashamed, I just hope one day they will need an ambulance and that they leave them rotting in the streets. Heartwarming when you see the Ochoa family doing their best to save people, most of the time they just don't get paid but they still continue trying to make a difference, trying to save people abandonned by their government. It's a hard documentary, but very well made, one that makes you think that we're so lucky not to live in a country like Mexico. I don't think we realize how lucky we are sometimes. My utter respect to the Ochoa family and all other independent paramedics that try to survive in such a corrupt country, and my utter disgust for those filthy pigs not worth being called humans.

Greetings again from the darkness. It would be easy to question why a family would choose to run a private ambulance service in a city where they may or may not get paid. It's only when we know one stunning statistic that their reasoning becomes clear. In Mexico City, the government operates only 45 ambulances for a population of nearly 9 million people. Director-cinematographer-editor-producer Luke Lorentzen takes us inside the ambulance with the Ochoas as they work the streets in the business they've run for almost 20 years ... it's a business that fills a necessary gap in emergency services.

Teenager Juan is the most talkative of the crew that includes his father, a younger brother and a friend of the family. We are never certain whether their service or vehicle is properly licensed, whether they are certified, or even if actual licenses and certifications exist. What we do know is that when a medical emergency occurs, a two-plus hour wait for a city ambulance makes the private services much more appealing ... and, quite frankly, necessary.

Mr. Lorentzen serves up some terrific camera work, focusing mostly on the family rather than the patients they are providing service for. In the blink of an eye, the Ochoa family goes from utter boredom to a life-and-death situation where response time is crucial. Timing is important not just for medical reasons, but for competitive ones as well. Often there are two races occurring - the race to reach the patient, and the race against another ambulance. What is clear is that once on the scene, the Ochoas are very professional and caring ... whether it's a gunshot wound, a child that's fallen four stories from a window, or a woman who has been physically assaulted by her boyfriend (and needs a hug, as well as an ambulance).

Corruption is everywhere in this cutthroat industry. From a government who refuses proper care for its citizens to a police force accepting bribes to private ambulance services on retainer from certain hospitals. For the Ochoas, the police scanner is as vital to their business as the medical supplies in the back where the youngest brother munches chips between calls. A loudspeaker is necessary as they race through the city streets admonishing cyclists and cab drivers to get out of the way for a medical emergency.

The Ochoas treat hundreds of patients each year, and when they aren't responding to calls, they are scrubbing the blood from the vehicle or resting up for another stressful night. We hear their philosophy in providing care for those who might not otherwise get to the hospital on time, and we understand this family does care very much about their chosen profession ... this in spite of the fact that so many refuse to pay them, or simply can't afford to. It's a constant hustle that keeps the family on the edge financially, although they can hold their head up high knowing they provide a valuable service. Lorentzen's camera work ensures we feel the intensity and stress of each and every call.

A mesmerizing and important documentary on a family's struggle and the broken health care system that ensnares their lives. Complicated and narratively complex, this film has stayed with me. Beautifully photographed and edited, as well.