The Kings of the World
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The Kings of the World
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this movie.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Kings of the World (Los Reyes del Mundo) is an award-winning Colombian drama that's quite bleak. The story revolves around five orphaned teens who live on violent streets, where they engage in petty crime and vandalism. As they venture into more rural areas, they encounter even more violence. They get in fights, including with machetes, and get beaten up, knifed, shot, and killed. At one point, five of them are abducted and stashed in a dark room, and only four escape. They ride their bikes at high speed on the freeway and mug other boys. They run across a bordello in the countryside and slow dance with the women; one boy says a lady gives good "blow jobs." Language in the English subtitles includes variations on "f--k," "s--t" and "bulls--t," "damn" and "damnit," "hell," "p-ssy," "son of a bitch," "asshole," "c--t," "moron," "idiot," "jerk," "sissy," "wimp." Teen boys smoke cigarettes and marijuana ("joints"), drink brink, sniff glue, and take pills.
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What's the Story?
Rá (Carlos Andrés Castañeda) has inherited land and a small cottage in the countryside from his grandmother, but in order to claim it, he has to go through the legal system in Colombia in THE KINGS OF THE WORLD. When the papers come in restituting the land to Rá, an orphaned teen who lives on the city streets, he heads off to the country with his makeshift family, four buddies who also lack families -- Seres (Davison Florez), Nano (Brahian Acevedo), Winny (Cristian Campaña), and Culebro (Cristian David Duque). Along the way, they'll encounter challenges and threats. Nothing is easy for these outsiders in Colombia.
Is It Any Good?
This tragic tale of orphaned teens scraping by in Colombia features five standout performances. The Kings of the World has won top festival awards and its country's nomination to the Oscars. Filmed in a natural realist style, with the camera following the gang of boys closely, the film also has elements of symbolism. The boys repeatedly encounter a white horse, for example, that seems to represent freedom. In one scene, the camera lingers on a makeshift version of the Colombian national motto -- "Liberty and Order." It's a cruel juxtaposition against the lives of these boys, which lacks any liberty or order at all.
In fact, the violence the boys face wherever they go feels both random and completely baked into the landscape of Colombia. When they're abducted by a group of men in a rural area, the local priest passes them on the road with nothing more than a salutation. Everywhere the boys go, older adults care for them but also warn them to be careful. They say they want to go somewhere where nobody "beats us up" or "humiliates us." They understand that's the life they were "given," but they still strive for something different, together. They have each other, until they don't. The film's sad ending couldn't have been any other way. Kings could potentially inspire empathy for those fleeing the violence of these contexts.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how the boys treat each other in The Kings of the World. They obviously care for each other, and they look out for one another, but they also fight a lot. Do you think their relationship seems realistic? Is it healthy?
What happens when the boys finally submit the paperwork for reclaiming the land? Where could you find more information about Colombia's Victims and Land Restitution Law?
Sometimes the sound goes out in this film and we hear either no sound or, for example, singing overlaid from an earlier scene or the inner thoughts of the boys. What did you feel during these scenes? Do you think that was intentional on the filmmakers' part?
How did you react to the film's ending? Did you expect something different?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: January 4, 2023
- Cast: Carlos Andrés Castañeda, Cristian David Duque, Davison Florez
- Director: Laura Mora Ortega
- Studio: Netflix
- Genre: Drama
- Topics: Friendship
- Run time: 111 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: January 5, 2023
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