THE STORY – Four Indigenous siblings survived 40 days in Colombia’s jungle after a plane crash. The film shows their story through footage, recreations, and animation, highlighting Indigenous-military cooperation and traditional knowledge.
THE CAST – N/A
THE TEAM – Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin & Juan Camilo Cruz (Directors/Writers)
THE RUNNING TIME – 96 Minutes
In 2023, a small plane went down in the jungles of Colombia. On board were seven people: two pilots, a mother, and her four children. All of the adults perished in the crash, leaving the children to survive on their own while awaiting rescue. National Geographic’s “Lost in the Jungle,” the latest documentary from Academy Award-winning directors Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi (“Free Solo”) and Emmy-winner Juan Camilo Cruz (“Messi’s World Cup”), chronicles the harrowing search for the children and their extraordinary story of survival.
From its opening moments, “Lost in the Jungle” conveys the enormity of the challenge. The crash occurred in Colombia’s Caquetá department, deep in the Amazon rainforest. Military search teams describe the dense jungle as “a carpet,” an impenetrable green expanse. Aerial photography reinforces the description, with endless treetops stretching toward the horizon. The wreckage appears to have been swallowed by the jungle, perhaps never to be seen again. The haunting imagery underscores both the beauty of the rainforest and the impossibility of the task ahead.
Dozens of voices shape the narrative, from the children’s relatives to competing search parties, including even the Colombian President, Gustavo Petro. Yet the filmmakers make a striking choice: they never show the missing children themselves. Instead, their perspective is rendered through exquisite animation. As we hear the voice of 13-year-old Lesly, the eldest of the siblings, delicate line drawings illustrate her memories, layered over real footage of the jungle. This stylistic approach creates a dreamlike, otherworldly atmosphere while also preserving the children’s privacy. It allows the audience to experience their absence alongside the searchers, heightening both the mystery and the emotional impact.
Though the film is structured as a search-and-rescue story, the interviews reveal unexpected complexities in the adults’ lives. Manuel, the husband of Magdalena — the children’s mother who died in the crash — joins the search, but her family accuses him of abuse. Was he responsible for persuading her to take this last-minute flight? As the search unfolds, these darker revelations add new layers of tension and tragedy.
Conflict also arises between the search groups themselves. The military clashes with indigenous communities called in to assist, the mistrust rooted in Colombia’s long history of governmental and indigenous conflict. Their uneasy collaboration adds another obstacle to the mission, while the looming presence of drug traffickers in the region threatens the military’s operations at any moment. Lesser filmmakers might have treated these elements as distractions, but through careful editing and thoughtful interviews, Chin, Vasarhelyi, and Cruz weave them into the narrative, intensifying the suspense.
Chin and Vasarhelyi are no strangers to rescue stories. Their acclaimed documentary “The Rescue” captured the extraordinary efforts to save a Thai soccer team trapped in a flooded cave in 2018. While “Lost in the Jungle” doesn’t quite achieve the same emotional crescendo, its account of children surviving alone in the wilderness is just as awe-inspiring. Lesly’s voiceover, filled with honesty and quiet strength, becomes the soul of the film. Her resilience in caring for her siblings against overwhelming odds delivers a cathartic conclusion, reminding us of the staggering resilience of the human spirit. Whether it was sheer willpower or something extraordinary within Lesly herself, her story feels almost miraculous. “Lost in the Jungle” is a gripping, deeply human tale of survival, told with precision, empathy, and artistry by two of the very best documentarian filmmakers out there.
