Go past the patrol car, okay?
AMBULANCE
There are a lot of people there.
Hey. Where were you? It took you a while to get here!
- That way? - Yeah, come. Quick!
- So, what happened? - Some assholes hit a girl.
What took you so long? Over here, quick!
Hey, stop staring. Let's get to work!
- I don't know what the problem is. - Is that him?
We already told that fag we're sorry, but he keeps on crying and crying.
Enough! What's wrong with you? Show some respect.
Easy, easy. Easy.
What's wrong with you?
- Hi. - Don't touch me!
My name's Marcus. I'm a paramedic. I'm here to help.
We're used to this. You don't need to check.
She's bleeding, let me cure her, all right?
- Let's see. Show me your face, dear. - So mean.
Easy. They really beat you, huh?
And then, I encounter this man disguised as God-knows-what.
Was it these assholes? They'll kick them out, bunch of dickheads.
This may sting a little, okay?
Okay.
- You okay, love? - She'll be fine.
I know, I know.
What will she need?
Nothing, just a couple stitches.
I've got a little something to make you feel better real quick.
This is the last one. Okay?
Just let me see you there.
That's it.
See? Good as new!
Thank you.
Hey. It's nothing.
It's everything.
Look, there's a clinic right around--
Let's go eat something.
Are you hungry?
There's this clinic around the corner. We can go, so she gets a couple stitches.
Do you wanna go, babe?
Let's go.
Hold this.
No, but really, we can get you to the clinic in no time!
- Pau! - You good?
Paula!
Paula, baby, what's wrong?
Paula? Paula, wake up!
I'm gonna need the truth. What did you two ingest?
No, nothing! Booze! Just alcohol!
Marcus, she's in a respiratory arrest. Come quick!
- My love. - Marcus! Hurry!
BASIC FIRST AID
Did you give her the shot correctly?
- Yeah! - Did you check it wasn't a vein?
Obviously, Ramón!
- What did you administer? - Lidocaine, she was hurting real bad!
Did you check for allergies?
No, dude.
I fucked up.
Known allergies?
I-I don't-- I don't know--
Possible allergic reaction to Lidocaine.
- What? - Fuck! I'm such an idiot.
What did you do to her?
Let me in.
- Come, come. - Here.
It's protocol.
I know, Ramón.
I fucked up, man. I fucked up real bad.
We can't keep going like this.
Like what, Ramón?
Without Marigaby?
Or with your stupid son Marcus?
I tried, Ramón.
I tried real hard. I busted my ass...
But I can't. This ain't my thing.
Not my thing.
Can I get some?
MIDNIGHT FAMILY
INSPIRED BY THE DOCUMENTARY MIDNIGHT FAMILY
No. I didn't go that far,
but just far enough so I could think a little.
I'm always looking for answers,
but maybe the best I could do is to stop asking so many damn questions, right?
Maybe this is the reason why we don't stop to think about it. Don't you?
Mary!
Come!
Coming!
What's with you now?
Are you in love or some shit?
I dreamed about the fucking ambulance again.
I dreamed of Chango, Julito and my Dad.
But they ain't here now.
So how about we have a chill, peaceful breakfast.
Or what?
Your ass is dying to get back to work, isn't it?
MUSTER POINT
No. No.
Also no.
What's wrong? What's going on?
We're getting our asses kicked, that's what's going on.
I presold the best, bloodiest, grossest of ambulance pictures.
And these are no good, dumbass!
Hold on, what do you mean by "presold"?
Some clients have already paid for something they ain't getting.
- Hey! Where do you think you're going? - We want our fucking money!
- We fucked up! - Why didn't you take good pictures?
Don't get mad.
I told you to keep an eye on her!
Idiots! What the fuck? Catch 'em! Let's go!
You damn fools are useless. Move it!
Quick! Guard the fence!
Hurry up.
All right, I'm going! Chill!
Hurry up.
Don't rush me. Wait!
- Come on! Climb over! - Hey, wait.
Wow, you're a speed demon.
- Your backpack! Let's go! - Run, run! Run fast!
I'm glad you didn't put my picture up there among the dead.
I'm not going to say anything to you.
I'm not asking you anything.
But it's been over a week, and I haven't heard from her.
Your daughter's fine.
That's the only thing that should matter to you right now.
Well, it's not enough knowing she's all right.
I need to know why she wouldn't trust me.
It's not about you, Ramón.
When you can feel the world suffocating you, you just need to get off for a bit.
When your job is saving lives, you can't just "get off" from the world.
Vanishing like that can't be good for her academics.
Are you really saying you care about her going to college?
When it's because of the ambulance that she's getting kicked out?
She'll know what to do. You're not her owner, Ramón. Or anybody else's.
In this family, it's like I'm always talking to a wall.
This is for you to study.
Without Marigaby, our business is really screwed.
You do remember I got kicked out of school, don't you?
So was I!
We need a third crew member.
Someone quick and proactive!
Someone with skills.
Named María Gabriela too?
I meant what I told you yesterday, Ramón.
I'm leaving the ambulance, man.
Stop it with your crap.
We can call Melial?
He's old-school but he's good!
Or we could consider-- I don't know.
Juan Carlos. Or Toño!
Although I think Toño's working for the Ambrizes.
Cris is pregnant.
She is, man.
If you would just listen you'd realize I'm not talking crap.
I am leaving the ambulance.
Come on, man, I'm telling you. Put that fucking thing down.
Ramón, who the fuck are you calling?
Your mom!
Hey, wakey!
What's this?
It's our profit, dummy!
All right, let's go.
Where?
Me first! Me first!
I'm gonna beat you!
- No! - Yes!
- No! - Yeah! Yeah!
- No! - Come on. Again.
I always wanted to come here.
- Your parents never brought you here? - No.
Me neither!
They're always working.
- No. No. - That was cheating!
As a kid we'd come here. I thought this was another country.
Did I ever tell you I also ran away from home?
For real?
Yeah!
I don't know. One day I woke up and I just felt totally disconnected and estranged.
Your mother was the only thing in the world I could recognize.
So I took Leticia,
I grabbed a couple bags, I packed my rags, and I got out of there.
At least you took my mom with you.
She just left us.
For a long time we didn't know where she was or if she was okay.
Julito used to ask me where she was. I didn't know what to tell him.
But you've felt it!
You've felt that burden,
you know how it feels to have the world grab you by the neck.
Some people can deal with it, some of us just cannot.
Look, I'm not trying to justify her actions.
She did the best she could. But your dad doesn't make it easy.
He'll suffocate y'all as long as he can sustain his adrenaline addiction.
The emergency adrenaline.
He's trapped in it.
I like being a paramedic.
Look. See? See my chickens?
They've always laid eggs. That's life for them.
If I open the gate and let them roam free, they won't know where to go.
And they all come back into the coop.
Freedom is not a luxury.
Thanks.
Our plan is to take all the money we made from the rap battle and go.
And to have the little bad boy or girl over there.
And just see how it goes. Chase our dream.
Which one? What is your dream?
Music.
But you can't even change a diaper.
Are you for real, Ramón?
Who taught Julito to stand up, man?
Or to play soccer? I took care of him more than the two of you combined.
And who put food on the table? Who made ends meet?
Fuck, at least I was here!
- Helping him do his fucking homework. - In our ambulance!
I've cared for that kid. It's your ambulance, dude.
Your ambulance, your dream. Not mine, man.
- My dream? - Yes.
My dream was to have a business so you could eat!
So we could live together and be cool.
Well, surprise, asshole. It's not cool without Marigaby.
And I ain't gonna be your fucking driver all my life, bro.
So I busted my heart for nothing?
What the fuck do you want, Ramón?
You want me to die in a fucking ambulance too?
Marcus, here you at least have us, your family.
But up there? What do you have up there?
Life ain't easy in the US.
With all due respect, Doña Lety,
life in Mexico ain't easy for people like me.
In the US, we at least have someone that will help us out and--
and she's going to help us make it through, do something new.
What am I supposed to do here in Mexico?
Care for children all my life, trapped in a house?
You get me, right?
I do.
I worked to leave something for you.
We're not afraid to start all over.
I've done it before.
And I'm not doing that bad.
And before, I could have waited longer before leaving,
but things are different now because...
because if it's not now, then when?
I won't abandon my family.
- Ramón. Ramón? - What the fuck, Ramón?
Hey, Ramón. Come on, man.
Leave him, let him go.
What's up with you?
I was just thinking of Marigaby.
Her favorite color was fluorescent.
Fluorescent isn't a color.
Well, that's that.
It sucks how much I miss her.
She's dead, isn't she? There was a lot of blood when she died, right?
You're so dumb! She's alive.
But she left.
Just like Mom did.
And I'm sure Marcus is gonna leave us too.
I hope my dad doesn't die from being so sad.
You're going to be a wonderful dad.
Do what you ought to do. We'll support you.
Thanks.
I'm gonna catch you. I'm gonna get you.
I'll always be here for you. All of you.
- I know it was hard-- - Lety.
I mean, you left.
That wasn't cool.
And I'm sorry if I was a dick.
I don't know.
I acted wrong.
But shit happens, right?
Yep.
Hey!
Here.
- What's this? - I bought it with arcade tickets.
I've got two left.
It's very cute.
So do you get arcade tickets from getting straight A's?
We sneaked out,
but it was for a good cause.
Hey, what's wrong, baby?
Nothing. I'm just missing Marigaby and the rest.
Everybody's minding their own business and I'm just...
You're just our paste.
How?
That's like superglue, isn't it?
The one holding this family together.
No matter what.
It's been a while since I've put up a shrine.
Would you like to put something up there? For someone?
Yeah? Here.
- Thank you. - Just pick a spot.
It's for a friend.
Her name was Nayelly.
She was an actress.
What happened to her?
I met her during the earthquake and...
in the end...
I don't even want to talk about it, but--
Did she die during the earthquake?
No.
It was after, but--
- What's going on over there? - Do you know them?
Yeah, that's Don Toño.
But what are they carrying?
What's wrong, Don Toño?
Doña Clara, I'm sorry to bother you.
Lázaro fell at the construction site
and we were told your granddaughter is a doctor.
I can help. How long has he been unconscious?
I don't know, just over ten minutes.
Come in, please!
Place his head that way. Don't move him too much, all right?
That's it, careful.
Step back, please.
Hey, pal. Can you hear me?
Is he alive?
Yeah, but if we don't hurry up, he's gone.
- Did you call for an ambulance? - Yeah, but the carnival is going on.
We don't know if it will get through.
We need medical equipment. And I need the town doctor, all right?
I need gauzes, saline, syringes, bandages, catheters.
You can get all that at a regular drugstore.
Tell the doctor to bring all the medical equipment he can get.
- We're going to operate on him right here. - Yes, Doctor.
What do you have here?
- I don't know what you need. - Pillows.
In that room.
- You got scissors? - Scissors, tape, yes. Do you need a lamp?
- Yeah, that too. - There, please.
- I could use aprons and some pots. - Yes, I'm on it. I'll be right back.
- Rags as well! - Yes, darling. I'm on it!
What a coincidence.
Yeah. She's not picking up your calls either?
Fuck! You didn't tell me you brought friends along, man!
You two know each other?
Yeah. We do.
- But, I came here on my own. - All right.
You know anything about her?
- About whom? - Your sister?
She's at the beach. She didn't tell you?
No.
Damn it, Doc! She left with, what's his name?
Mr. Hotshot!
That's his real name, guys!
Is she okay?
She told my mom she needs some space.
Well, if you see her, tell her I came.
All right.
And say that, if she needs anything, I'll be there. She can just call.
You got it, Doctor.
Later, Raúl!
Pretty guy, huh?
Yeah, but I'm more charming.
- Well, but he's taller, man. - Yeah, true that.
Afternoon.
What's this one doing here?
He's one of your daughter's patients.
Chill, blondie.
Sis likes you better, huh?
Hey, wait here.
Hey, Ramón.
We could use some extra help, right?
- Come on, big guy! Chop-chop! - Yeah.
All right, blondie. Don't fuck it up. And we speak Mexican here, not Spanish.
Got it. Here?
Yeah. Just be careful, this is the third world.
Hey!
Hey, time out! Stop, stop, stop. I'm tired!
What's this?
What's this beer doing here?
Party's over! Take those costumes off now!
- But-- - But nothing! Costumes off!
Hey, hey, hey! What's going on in here!
Look. Look at them. They're drinking beer.
No, wait, those are mine. I bought them.
Didn't we agree on this? Didn't we set house rules?
Yes, and we've always kept our agreements.
Listen to me, our religion says so, "No alcohol."
We made a vow! We let Christ in and we can't pervert our bodies!
I know, but they're a neighbor's. I put them--
Lety, you know my past.
They're for our altar. I know. Don't worry.
I-- I'll take them away right now.
- Let's go. - Julio, go ahead, grab your candy.
Julio, come on, get out!
- I'll be taking these. - Yes. Take them.
Hey, Luke.
I'm very grateful for all the things you do for my children, for Ramón.
But just--
Don't you ever speak like that to Julio again.
You young people think everything's so easy,
but life's gonna change.
Everything will revolve around that baby.
Everything.
But your life revolves around that piece of crap, right?
Well, thanks to that piece of crap,
thanks to that ambulance, you've had food on your table.
Is that ambulance your child, man?
- No. - You've never failed her, dude.
I mean, you left me waiting for you at school for hours.
- You did the same to Marigaby. - Stop it, stop it, enough.
And what about Mom? Are you going to do the same to Julito?
There's a 0-42 in the old factory over Route 57.
Old paper factory over Route 57.
Hop in, blondie.
His name is Lázaro. Male. 24 years of age.
Pulse 110 bpm.
Diaphoretic, tachypneic.
All right.
He's impaled, Doctor.
We need to call for an ambulance.
We've obviously called one. But it's been 40 minutes and it hasn't come.
If we want to save this man, we need to operate immediately.
Are you a doctor?
I'm a paramedic. In my second year of med school.
Well, we're gonna have to figure this one out.
Here, for you.
- For you. - Thank you.
And may God have mercy on us all.
This used to be where they printed paper money for the whole country.
Well, it looks quite crappy, man.
Hey, Ramón, could this be a trap? Last time they got us real bad.
Do you want to go back?
Let's go, dude.
You sure?
We're all the way here, Ramón.
You scared, blondie?
Not at all.
No, Ramón. You wait here, dude. What if the ambulance gets stolen?
What's up, bro?
My buddy.
- He's not gonna make it. - Well, show us. Where to?
Let's go.
Fuck, is it over there?
Damn.
I'm going in.
Are you okay?
Yeah, it's just I've only done this at school.
Compressions?
Yeah.
Now I'm going to need you to make the incision
and hold the skin by the sides.
Yeah.
Relax.
This happens to all of us.
Things are different when you're performing on a living body.
Hold the rod.
Done.
I'll remove the rod as soon as I figure out what it's piercing.
Okay.
- Okay. - Go.
Go.
Holy fuck.
It's piercing the liver.
We can't remove it.
He'd bleed out immediately.
I don't know what to do.
Oh, God.
Let's go.
- Hello? - Raúl?
I've been searching for you everywhere! How are you?
I need your help, please!
I'm at my grandma's place. There was an accident.
We barely have the basic materials.
We're performing an exploratory laparotomy.
The patient is a male, 24 years old.
He has a rod impaled in his abdomen. Right upper quadrant.
His liver is pierced. I need you to help me perform the surgery. Guide me.
- Is this your homey? - Yes.
- Fuck me. It's Justice Bieber. - Hey, bud.
- I saw him on TikTok. - What's his name?
- Hip-Hopper... - Chimba.
...and paramedic.
- Bud. - What's in his system?
Beer.
His pulse is slow, irregular, and he's not breathing well.
- He smoked some joints with me. - No shit.
Forgot to mention he did some fenta.
What's fenta?
Some shit these kids do now.
You got naloxone? We need to clear his system from opioids.
- Did you bring the first aid kit? - No.
- Come on! - Hey, chap. Listen to me. Friend.
- Ramón! - Buddy.
All right, did you remove the rod?
No, there's heavy bleeding.
All right. Pay attention and do exactly as I say.
- Okay? - All right.
You're gonna need a Sengstaken- Blakemore tube to aid hemostasis.
- No. - We don't have one.
Okay, I understand. Let me think.
We're improvising then.
Do you have a Foley catheter and a Penrose drain?
Yes, I have it in my case.
- Grandma, could you... - No, I'll hold it. Go.
Yes, of course.
- Hurry, please. - I'm on it.
Hurry, hurry, hurry.
- Here it is. - Thank you. Hold here, hold it.
Got it!
Good. Okay. Cut through the Foley balloon.
- And put it inside the Penrose drain. - All right.
We don't have a Penrose drain.
- Come on, Doc. - We don't have the drain.
Fuck.
Okay, let me think.
My backpack. Front zipper, Grandma.
- I have a condom there. - Yes, dear.
- Search for it, okay? - I'm on it.
Yeah, good. That's good!
Ramón.
Marcus! You forgot the protocol again!
I know, man.
- Thanks! - He's in cardiac arrest, come on!
Did you make it? Secure it to the Foley!
On it.
Now I need you to cover the balloon and tie the ends firmly.
But avoid occluding the tube.
- Are you following? - Yes.
- Done. - Good.
Now you're going to introduce the balloon in the way of the parenchymal injury.
Then you're going to fill it with water until the bleeding stops.
- Got it? - Yes.
We're removing the rod.
You're gonna take it out and I'm gonna to insert this, okay?
- Yeah. - Let's do it.
On three.
One, two, three. Out it goes.
That's it! Dry it!
Open, open the skin for me.
That's it, incoming, incoming.
In, in, in.
Come on, damn it!
Hurry up, fucking Justice Bieber.
- He's talking about you. - You have it or not, Marcus?
Listen. This shit's expensive, man.
- Come on. - Marcus, I need to give it now!
Stop talking and save him, assholes!
Buddy. Marcus!
All right, take it!
Hey, hey!
- Hey, relax! - You messed with my trip, assholes!
- Joseph! - Let go of me!
Shut up, man!
- Done. Grandma, can you hold this? - Yes.
He's bleeding out!
I'm on it!
Very good.
More.
Hold on, hold on, hold on.
- It's about to fill up. - How's it going?
- All done. - How's it going, Marigaby?
Marigaby, is everything all right?
Everything all right?
It's working.
It worked!
We made it.
Raúl, we made it! Thank you!
- Fuck, yeah! - Thank you!
Very good. Good.
Raúl?
Raúl, can you hear me?
Are...
All right, my guy. I need to take you to the hospital, okay?
Nah.
Just tell us how much we owe you and get the fuck out.
Nah, we ain't charging.
Curls, get the money.
We know what it is to earn your living.
How are you, Doc?
I'm fine, dear.
Ma'am, could I have a drink, please?
Of course, Doctor.
I hope the ambulance gets here soon.
All we did was buy him some time.
Don't be so hard on yourself.
If you weren't here,
if you hadn't called your friend, this young man wouldn't have made it.
Not everything's under our control. And you know that more than anyone.
Here you go, Doctor.
- Thank you very much. - You're welcome.
For you, sweetie.
Thanks.
You know, I ask myself every day, "What the hell am I doing here?
Why did I even study medicine?"
But after moments like this one, I say, "Anyway."
Right?
Every day is a good day to give up.
But if we haven't, there must be a reason.
Cheers.
- Cheers. - It's here. The ambulance is here.
They're going to transfer him now. Make way, please.
All right.
He needs water and to stay covered. He'll be fine, okay?
This was all we could gather.
No worries, girl.
You messed up my trip, assholes!
Let's get out of here.
How are you doing?
Fine. You?
I'm tired.
Excuse me, is there a family member or anyone who can come along with us?
We're not related.
We need to take him to the city.
- I'll go in a minute. - Thanks.
"I'll go in a minute?"
Look, I--
I've got too many things on me.
And I'm very confused.
But if there's anything I do know, it's that...
nothing feels greater than saving lives.
I noticed, sweetheart.
But I need you to promise
you won't perform surgery on my dining table the next time you come.
I'll try.
Don't be sad.
Come on. Don't be late.
- Thanks for everything, you hear? - You're welcome.
I love you, sweetheart.
You'll always find a home here.
Marigaby!
Sweetie!
Are you okay?
- Yeah. - So you're still alive, Doc.
I realized I can't handle both the ambulance and med school.
I'm sorry.
When you went away, I also realized many things, honey.
Glad you did, Ramón.
Because I've told you this ain't my thing, dude.
Well, during this time, I realized it is my thing.
But there are many things I need to learn.
Do you know what happened today?
Your Spanish boyfriend came over and helped us out with a situation.
And we realized we might need someone new.
And your friend Barney ain't that dumb.
- Told you. - Blondie knows his stuff.
I was thinking about your mom and I also realized I'm too damn stubborn.
And that I'm getting older.
Are you thinking of retiring your Bad Girl?
It's your call.
We're a team.
There's just one person we're missing.
What do you mean you're leaving the ambulance?
You promised I would drive it when I got older!
That we would do it all!
This is bullshit!
No cursing!
How do you think I feel?
And me.
Even I feel bad, man.
Look, kid.
It's only temporary.
Wait for me to finish school, okay?
And I promise you one day we'll have a fleet of ambulances, okay? For real.
For real?
Yeah. An entire fleet.
Well, you heard your sister.
An entire fleet of ambulances.
Fuck yeah!
What did you think?
That we would leave millions of Mexico City inhabitants
without the Tamayo family?
Nah!