The Box

Lorenzo Vigas's 2021 film follows Hatzin, travelling to collect his father's remains from a mass grave in northern Mexico. On the way he meets a man who closely resembles his father; the man says he does not know him, but the boy will not let go. The film does not resolve that uncertainty. Whether the man really is the father, or whether Hatzin wants to believe it, is never answered, and the relationship that forms between them becomes an apprenticeship rather than a fatherhood. Behind it lie the factory system of northern Mexico and the supply of labour, which is precisely the man's work. Vigas keeps the narrative slow and makes violence felt without showing it. Hernan Mendoza and Hatzin Navarrete lead. Who it's for: those who like Latin American cinema and quiet, tense drama. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a definite answer; the film leaves its central question open.