A deep-dive documentary about the search for four children in the Colombian jungle after a plane crash, The Lost Children definitely pricks at the tear ducts.
I vividly remember hearing about the four children who were lost in the Colombian Amazon following a plane crash in 2023. There were mentions on various news programs throughout the United States and I recall the feeling of wonder that they had actually been found alive. But it wasn’t just me – the world shared this story.
The Lost Children is a documentary about four children, their mother, and several other passengers whose plane crashed into the Colombian jungle. With the density of the jungle, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. This film includes interviews with several family members as well as various military and indigenous searchers who detail the process of hunting for the plane and then, later, the children, over 40 days.
There are many wild things about this story that the world never learned – the biggest one being the complicated history between the Colombian military and the indigenous people. The four children (aged 13, 9, 4, and 11 months) and their mother are all indigenous Colombians. Their father (biological father of two and step-father of two) is also indigenous.
The Colombian Special Forces soldiers were sent into the jungle to find both the plane and count the number of passengers so that they could determine that there were no survivors. Upon discovering that the children were missing, they were sent on a rescue party.
At the same time, the indigenous people of the area, who have a great distrust of the military (as does the military of them) began their own search for the children. Each party had their own way of looking (the military used calculated methods and the indigenous used earth and spiritually-based methods) until, eventually, they had to join forces. That is a long-lasting gift from this story that we never heard about.
This doc uses lots of real footage along with recreations, but you always feel like you are watching the story. Unless you heavily dissect what you’re watching (and thus, not paying attention to the film), you’ll never know the difference.
There are some interviews that feel as if they go into different territories in regards to the histories of the searchers, but it all comes together at the end. Let it breathe and you’ll see where it takes you.
The Lost Children is an interesting story that slowly pulls at your heart strings as you are waiting for a payoff. How and when do they find the children? How did they manage to survive? Where are they today and is there any update? Yeah, I got chills a couple of times and then I cried. It’s a good one.
I vividly remember hearing about the four children who were lost in the Colombian Amazon following a plane crash in 2023. There were mentions on various news programs throughout the United States and I recall the feeling of wonder that they had actually been found alive. But it wasn’t just me – the world shared this story.
