Dispossessed drug dealer and companions face displacement, sickness, and cultural decay in Colombia’s back alleys. They have acquaintances on the streets but selective friendships. Alone and with lost connections, survival becomes a struggle on their terms.

Plunging into the dark underbelly of Medellín, Colombia, Chris Gude’s bold debut eschews realism, opting instead for stylized imagery that poetically conveys the ineffable loneliness of a community gripped by drug trafficking. Cathartic in its potency, mambo gives a voice to those who are silenced.