The Golden Dream

The Golden Dream is the debut feature by Mexican director Diego Quemada-Díez, previously a cinematographer and camera operator on 21 Grams and The Constant Gardener. This film carries a similar weightiness and moral heft to those tomes to mortality and realpolitik, yet retains a dreamlike quality that at times leaves the film in debt as much to Terrence Malick as Alejandro González Iñárritu.

The story follows three teenagers – Juan, Sara and Chauk – as they attempt to escape to the US from the slums of Guatemala. The journey, however, is fraught with peril: people traffickers, gangs and, worst of all, ‘migra’ – the migration officers who keep boarders secure at rifle-point. The film never shies away from the brutality of the journey, yet the focus is as much on the bond the youngsters build on the road as the dangers they face together. Beautifully shot, and powerfully told, The Golden Dream succeeds in telling a political story, personally. [Sam Lewis]