A candid and often hyperreal depiction of survival on (and under) the streets of Mexico City. Street kid Rufino hopes that the proceeds from selling a stolen bag of cocaine will let him take his girlfriend Xochitl and her son away from their blanched, hopeless existence. But when he hears a rumor about his long-absent father, Rufino becomes obsessed with a process of discovery that reveals the extent of the corruption, betrayal, and desperation that rule these meanest of streets. With each decision to prolong their flight, Rufino (Luis Fernando Peña in a devastating performance) and Xohitl become further mired in their underworld. Plying the same territory as Los Olvidados and Amores Perros, this remarkable debut feature (adapted from a renowned stage play by Jesús González Dávila) is brutal in its honesty and execution, its handheld, in-your-face camera and desaturated colors lending Mexico's urban decay a palpable dimension.