Spring of the Vanishing is the typical documentary that will have you screaming endlessly at the screen, as if this absurd reaction will help fight the injustice exposed in the film. In the feature, a mother leads the admirable quest of finding justice for however abducted her son, in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, a territory where the country’s special forces are sweeping without mercy, thinking they’re actually fighting crime. What they feel to see is that the situation is much more complicated and they’re indulging in relentless and localized genocide. Weirdly, those exposed in the documentary have a “who cares?” attitude that will have you screaming at the screen, and hopefully, trying to investigate further.
This is the official synopsis:
Per the film’s official description, “a U.S. trained and armed unit of Mexico’s special forces were seen patrolling the streets of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico when people began disappearing. It was deployed to pacify the stronghold of the Zetas cartel, but operated indiscriminately and with impunity. Eighteen-year-old and U.S.-born Jorge Dominguez was among 49 reported missing during the six-week operation.
Nicknamed Papas, Jorge Dominguez is one of many who were taken and never returned. The strange site where those detained are being kept is a not-so secret center where the families of those who have been kidnapped against their will ask for some confirmation. The plea is louder than we imagine, but for some reason, the military operates as if Tamaulipas were a concentration camp. They wander around hunting the innocent, under the tutelage of the leaders of the Free World.
And this is where things get a little murky. Andrew Glazer’s Spring of the Vanishing is unlike any other documentary about this heartbreaking subject. It goes very deep into the heart of the conflict with jarring sequences of children, mothers, and all those affected by the incidents. Someone finds the body of a relative, half-buried in the wasteland. Another body is burned beyond recognition. All while children cry for their uncle to show up. This is where it got me. The children. They should never be involved.
Glazer also makes sure to answer some of the biggest questions you will have after he focuses the camera on the powers that be. The problem seems to be related to the United States’ involvement in training Mexican Special Forces. Of course, it’s a bit more complicated than that, but this is still a massacre taking place minutes away from the border. Yes, they should also participate in the many answers viewers will require after watching Spring of the Vanishing.
When it comes to social justice documentaries, Spring of the Vanishing is one of the essential pieces that goes for an unrestrained expose about the issue. Again, not easy to watch, but it’s only right to see things the way they really are.
Film critic. Lover of all things horror. Member of the OFCS. RT Approved Critic.
