IN THE LAND OF LOST ANGELS

Official Selection, 2019 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

Cycling through the highs and lows of kidnapping–from the adrenaline rush of executing the capture, to the awkward reality of supervising your hostage in the restroom–director Bishrel Mashbat renders in black and white what happens when two Mongolian Americans in Los Angeles decide extortion is their only option to help family at home. With noirish minimalism, IN THE LAND OF LOST ANGELS replaces grandiose thrills with the mundane fears, doubts, and failures of a high-stakes abduction.

With a wealthy son bound and gagged in the bathroom, IN THE LAND OF LOST ANGELS’ seven-day motel room waiting game is peppered with the quiet tension of amateurism and all the uncertainty this brings, along with slower moments to scarf down a panini or debate the complexities of K-pop. As the duo executes a spare and thrilling ransom drop, Mashbat’s lean, low-budget aesthetic gives us a restless depiction of the ultimate no-turning-back situation, along with a rarely-seen Mongolian American underworld filled with burner phones, suitcase mules, and a grey network only a phone call away.

–Aleya Zenieris

Co-Presented by Sweetwater High School