I’m No Longer Here’ Deserves More Recognition

I’m No Longer Here (Ya No Estoy Aquí) is a Netflix original film that should be getting way more recognition from media and award panels than it is currently receiving.

In this intimate tale of a harrowing journey, the musical genre cumbia helps bring a small Mexican community together even as trouble ensues. The film follows Ulises (Juan Daniel García “Derek”), a 17-year-old “Cholombiano” from the poverty-stricken outskirts of Monterrey, Mexico, as he flees to the U.S. and tries to make a life for himself in New York. In Monterrey, Ulises was something of a local celebrity, the face of a dance crew known as Los Terkos. They wear wild hairstyles, baggy clothes, and when they’re not hanging and dancing, they’re occasionally causing chaos. They even shake down a kid for a few dollars just so they can purchase new music.

In New York, Ulises knows no one and speaks no English. He briefly lives with a group of day laborers who find his way of life deeply off-putting. He’s also befriended by the 16-year-old granddaughter (Angelina Chen) of a Queens bodega owner, who is fascinated by his style and his music but speaks no Spanish herself. The film moves along the two timelines, as the lonely, penniless boy makes his way (and occasionally dances his way) through the city while flashing back to his life in Mexico and the grisly circumstances that led to him having to leave.

Filmmaker Frías de la Parra proves himself a gifted visual storyteller. I’m No Longer Here has been released by Netflix, which hopefully means it will reach a broad, international audience. But it’s also not the kind of movie you can pop on in the background. It demands your attention, and it merits your attention; as well as a few more award show nominations.

Currently, it has been submitted to the Academy Awards. We shall see what transpires.