A middle-aged man lies on the floor, his feet bare and his head bloodied. A pedestrian walks by, paying him no heed, as though such sights are not uncommon on the streets of Mexico City. It’s an arresting opening image for the first feature by Amat Escalante, a filmmaker with an unflinching eye for the quotidian marriage of mundanity and brutality. It may come as little surprise that Blood (2005)—which took the Un Certain Regard FIPRESCI prize at Cannes—was co-produced by Carlos Reygadas, for whom Escalante would serve as assistant director on the similarly benumbed Battle in Heaven the very same year. Both filmmakers share a fascination for individuals narcotized by the grind of modern life, over which the irruptive threat of violence hangs like a Damoclean sword. But where Reygadas moved towards questions of autobiography and privilege, Escalante’s focus remained locked on the downtrodden, incisively surveying the gulf between the haves and have-nots with his startling sophomore feature Los bastardos (2008). While his later films would grow in scope and ambition, collecting major awards in the process, these early features are perhaps the best introduction to Escalante’s cinema, which casts an unvarnished gaze upon the primal urges of those incarcerated in a spiritual void.

A middle-aged man lies on the floor, his feet bare and his head bloodied. A pedestrian walks by, paying him no heed, as though such sights are not uncommon on the streets of Mexico City. It&#8217;s an arresting opening image for the first feature by Amat Escalante, a filmmaker with an unflinching eye for the quotidian marriage of mundanity and brutality. It may come as little surprise that Blood (2005)&#8212;which took the Un Certain Regard FIPRESCI prize at Cannes&#8212;was co-produced by Carlos Reygadas, for whom Escalante would serve as assistant director on the similarly benumbed Battle in Heaven the very same year. Both filmmakers share a fascination for individuals narcotized by the grind of modern life, over which the irruptive threat of violence hangs like a Damoclean sword. But where Reygadas moved towards questions of autobiography and privilege, Escalante&#8217;s focus remained locked on the downtrodden, incisively surveying the gulf between the haves and have-nots with his startling sophomore feature Los bastardos (2008). While his later films would grow in scope and ambition, collecting major awards in the process, these early features are perhaps the best introduction to Escalante&#8217;s cinema, which casts an unvarnished gaze upon the primal urges of those incarcerated in a spiritual void.

Spiritual Prisoners:  Films by Amat Escalante

SPIRITUAL PRISONERS:  FILMS BY AMAT ESCALANTE

With an unflinching eye for the quotidian marriage of mundanity and violence, Amat Escalante is one of the key figures in contemporary Mexican cinema. These early works are the perfect introduction, casting an unvarnished gaze upon the primal urges of those incarcerated in a spiritual void.

With an unflinching eye for the quotidian marriage of mundanity and violence, Amat Escalante is one of the key figures in contemporary Mexican cinema. These early works are the perfect introduction, casting an unvarnished gaze upon the primal urges of those incarcerated in a spiritual void.