Coyote Lake (2019)

- Mami?
- Hmm?
You're not cooking for an entire army.
Come sit with us.
You're right.
It's an old habit.
When my husband was alive,
he had a cattle farm
right across the lake,
on the Mexico side
of the border.
I would cook...
lunch and dinner...
for him and his workers.
It was like an army.
You still have
that cattle farm?
No.
I'm sure your life
is much more exciting.
Exciting, yes. Though...
most times
I wish it were boring.
Why would you say that?
I would love to have
an exciting life.
Sometimes the excitement
can be a good thing.
But too much excitement...
there are variables.
Variables?
Like... like what?
There are many ungrateful
people in my line of work.
What type of work do you do?
I'm like a...
tour guide.
That's weird!
I mean, they signed up
for the tour, right?
That's what I say.
I always warn them
what type of trip
they're signing up for.
But still they complain,
want to turn around,
go home...
They should go home.
Don't spoil the trip
for everyone else.
I wish it were that easy.
So what do you do with them?
Mija, please.
Let him enjoy his food. Hmm?
Sorry.
I just...
I wanna travel...
I would love to be tourist.
I'm saving money
to go somewhere.
I was just like you
when I was younger.
But take it from me...
when you spend many years travelling
from place to place...
you grow to miss your home.
Can we offer you
anything else?
How about some coffee?
That sounds wonderful.
It's taking forever.
Be patient, hija.
Do you like sugar
in your coffee?
Mami?
- Mami.
- Hmm?
Found it.
What do you think?
Is he worth it?
Yes.
Very good, Ester.
- Where's Dirk, Mama?
- I don't know.
You know how he can be.
- I'm gonna go find him.
- No, no, no...
Let's wait until darker.
What if he wakes up?
He will not.
He drank the entire glass.
Basket is ready.
See? A peaceful death.
What?
What do you want, Dirk?
Stop staring at me,
you freak.
Wait!
Wait! Wait!
Wait! Wait.
I have food for you.
Uh, uh...
please, take it.
Take it.
I'm sorry.
Sit down, mija.
What happened?
You gave them food?
I'm not mad at you.
Why couldn't they stay here?
You know...
they didn't have enough money
to make them worth it.
And probably,
they don't deserve it.
They seemed like good people.
Exactly!
So why couldn't we
just help them?
One night.
Some food. We could have
done that for them.
Those poor people.
Left for dead
by those coyotes,
and the coyotes
we let in our house.
Mm-hmm. Yes.
And we give those coyotes
what they deserve.
Hmm? Like Mario.
He seemed nice, but...
what do you think he meant
when he talked about tourists?
Tourists.
Still...
we could have helped them.
I heard you yelling at Dirk.
Did he do something to you?
No.
I just...
don't understand
why he has to stay here.
He barely helps.
I can do what he does.
Ai, mija.
Do you keep him here
because...
- you love him?
- No!
Ester...
as soon as we have the money,
we will leave...
for good. Hmm?
And I promise you,
I promise you...
it will just be us.
No Dirk. Hmm?
Yes.
- I'm fine, thank you.
- What do you need?
I need... my mom's medicine.
And another bottle
of the sleeping pills
and the muscle relaxants.
Pero, you took a bottle of
those pills not too long ago.
- You must be careful, Ester.
- I know, I know.
My... my mom,
she misplaced them.
And she's in so much pain,
she can't even sleep without them.
- I'm sorry.
- Just be careful.
Maybe this time
you hold on to them
so she does not get them lost.
- Right?
- Yeah, yeah, I'll try.
What size are you, Ester?
Excuse me?
Pretty girl like you
wearing the boy clothes?
You hide behind those shirts.
You need to wear a pretty dress.
- Doa Rosa, really, it's OK!
- Ya, Ester.
Mija...
don't be scared, eh?
Just stay out of their way.
Now take this bag.
Promise me you'll wear them.
And make sure your mother
doesn't lose those pills.
I will.
Where did you leave the truck?
Far away?
Take a shower.
Tonight,
you can come to my room.
Hmm?
You have to do this.
Yes, show me.
OK... OK, be careful.
- Hello.
- Hello.
Would you happen to have
a room available for tonight?
Yeah. Come in.
Sir?
Sir, I brought you
some Jamaicawater.
Thank you.
Miss, Miss, Miss.
You... You need to help us.
I'm sorry. We don't have
any rooms available.
Listen, listen. My friend's
in the car and he's... he's badly hurt.
- Please...
- I can't help you, I'm sorry.
Listen, all right? Look.
He... he's been shot, all right?
There's a hospital.
Look, OK?
I'm not giving you a choice.
Now, come down here, come on.
- Faster, faster, to the truck.
- OK, OK.
- Ester?
- Hey!
- Mami!
- You, walk towards me. Come on.
- Is anybody else in the house?
- We have a guest inside.
He will not awake.
He had a lot to drink.
You. You.
Down... down here. Come.
Hurry. Go with her.
Get to the car
and help my friend out of there.
Give him some tequila.
In the cabinet.
He needs to go to the hospital.
Enough about the hospital,
it's not an option.
Get out of the way and let your
mom take care of it. Move!
Give me the tequila!
Hold him. Hold him.
OK, all right. Hurry up!
OK, OK, two more minutes.
OK. It's OK.
What was that? Huh?
Who is that?
- Answer me.
- It's Dirk.
What? You told me
the guest wouldn't wake up.
Dirk works here.
The guest is still sleeping.
- You fucking lied to me?
- No.
No. You asked
who was in the house.
- He wasn't in the house.
- Don't get smart with me, OK?
- Just listen...
- Don't move.
No, no, no, mija, no!
Call him.
Dirk, the kitchen.
Shh! OK.
Hey.
Move, move. Don't move, OK?
Is anybody else gonna show up?
No, no. Only the guest.
Nobody else lives here.
We rent rooms
but it's rare for us
to have guests.
Come here, move.
Don't move, stay there.
All right, over there.
Turn around. Turn around.
OK, OK, OK...
Everyone give me their cell
phones. Right now, come on.
Is that it?
Fine.
Now I want to check the rest
of the house, all of the rooms.
All right?
You and you,
you're coming with me.
- Let's go. Let's go.
- Yeah, OK, OK.
Move it, move it.
- All right, now that one.
- No, no, that's the guest room.
- So what?
- What if we wake him up?
Open the damn door!
- OK, open the door.
- Come on.
Let's go.
OK, OK, OK. OK.
- Is this is the only guest?
- Yes, it's the only one.
What a mess.
We have to do something
about the guest.
What?
His room is a mess.
If he wakes up,
he will know everything.
He could put us in danger.
Move it.
You, over there.
Get in that room.
- That's not my room.
- I don't care.
Listen up. I'm going
to be up all night,
so don't do anything smart,
because I will hear you,
and if I do, I'll shoot you.
OK?
Go.
You... over there.
Come on.
Sir, please,
you need to be quiet.
There are men in the house.
Men with guns.
If you cause a scene, they'll
come in and shoot us both. So...
Shh!
Shh! Shh! Shh!
Just listen to me...
- No!
- Get up.
You drugged me!
Are you OK? What happened?
Hey, hey, hey,
what happened?
I... I heard sounds
from my room.
And then I thought
he was sick, so I came in.
And he attacked me.
We have to...
Come on. Come on, come on.
We need to go. Let's go.
Get me a shovel.
Grab his arm. Come on.
Help me move him. Come on.
Here.
Start digging.
This way.
Here?
Yeah.
No, you have to...
you have to
plant the blade
into the ground.
I am.
Use your feet.
No, no, here. I got it.
I think he's waking up.
Go back to the house.
You don't wanna see this.
Go.
I told you
to stay in your room.
Sorry...
I couldn't sleep.
I'm hungry.
Aren't you?
Yeah.
I could make us
some breakfast.
OK.
Get the fuck... Get out.
Get out!
What do you think
you're doing?
- What was that?
- I...
I-I think...
Dirk was just
getting rid of the car.
That was the guest's car.
That's smart, right?
We should probably
get rid of it.
Hide any evidence.
You all need to stop making
your own damn decisions, OK?
What's the problem
with the retard?
- What?
- That guy.
Dirk. He just stood there
like a zombie last night.
But this morning he's, what,
all of a sudden a crime expert?
He's got some sort of
mental problem, right?
Maybe.
If my house had been
under attack,
I'd stand up to the guys.
So we're under attack?
You know what I mean.
I don't care much
for him either.
You and your mom need
a real man to protect you.
- You mean a man like you?
- What about him?
I was just saying that...
you two need a real man
to protect you.
Don't worry. We manage just fine
without a man like you.
Hurry up. I'm hungry.
We need to find a moment
to take care of them.
Why don't we just do
what we always do?
They probably have
a lot of money.
No. That's too risky.
There are two of them.
We never done two
at the same time.
Then, what?
I don't know. But just know,
mijita...
just know...
what he did last night,
he didn't do...
out of a kindness.
This type of people
don't have kindness in them.
Trust me.
Hmm?
Paco.
How is he?
We need to get him
some medicine.
- You're coming with me.
- No, no, no, no.
No, you should take me instead.
I'm in charge,
and we do as I say.
We're taking your car,
so where are the keys?
In the kitchen.
Can you put that thing away?
You and your mom are very bossy
considering
I'm the one with the gun.
I just don't want us
to hit a bump on the road
and you accidentally shoot me
in the head or something.
So what's your name?
Paco.
I'm Ester.
Ester? That's...
That's an ugly name.
You're way too pretty
for a name like that.
Ester, hola.
- Hola, Doa Rosa.
Who is this?
I'm Paco. Uh...
Ester's boyfriend.
Ahh.
Is that why you're
acting so nervous?
- Nice to meet you, Paco.
- Mucho gusto.
You better take care
of this girl.
Ester, how's your mother?
I haven't seen you in a while.
I'm sorry. It's...
We've been really busy.
Mm. Mm-hmm.
- It's Dirk actually.
- Quehappened?
Well, he was cutting wood,
and the axe slipped
and sliced his leg open.
He's gonna be OK, but we think
it's getting infected.
What did the doctor say?
He said we didn't really
do a good job cleaning it.
But it's Dirk's fault.
He stayed outside, letting it bleed.
He's such a silly man.
He needs antibiotics.
Sure, sure.
And some painkillers.
He's in a lot of pain.
Sure, sure.
You don't need that now.
- What?
- The gun.
You trust your girlfriend,
don't you?
What?
I'm sorry,
that would never happen.
My mom would never
let me date a gringa.
That's not fair.
I'm half Mexican.
You can't even speak Spanish.
Well, neither could
Selena Quintanilla,
but she learned it eventually,
and so will I.
Besides, since when
is speaking Spanish
a must to being Latina.
Latina, or Chicana...
Fresa...
whatever, I...
you've obviously
never been in a relationship
if you think
couples always trust each other.
You never had a boyfriend?
- I'm not that type of girl.
- What type of girl is that?
My mom says only dumb girls
when they're pregnant and alone
have boyfriends this young.
They end up either a stripper
or a prostitute.
Do you believe your mom
when she...
when she tells you those things?
Is that why you wear
these boy clothes?
'Cause of what your mom says?
So why do you smuggle drugs?
That's what you do, right?
You two are drug dealers?
What do you think?
Why do you and your mom live
in that abandoned farm?
We're saving up money.
When we have enough,
we'll leave.
I'd love to go somewhere,
you know,
start a family...
maybe by the beach.
I wanna go to the beach, too.
You should.
Get away from all the bad shit
that happens around here.
No.
No?
Mami...
what do you wanna eat?
Nothing.
I lost my appetite.
He should be better tomorrow.
I'll go check on him.
Thanks for cooking.
- Mami...
- Start cleaning the kitchen.
What do you think
you are doing?
Hey.
What happened?
Hey, hey.
Your cheek's red.
What happened?
She didn't like my behavior
at dinner.
She said I was acting
like a tramp.
What? Why?
She said I was...
flirting with you.
And she slapped you for that?
Ester,
just because she's your mom...
doesn't mean she's allowed
to treat you like this.
Please, just...
She'll just hear us,
and she'll get angrier.
Gracias.
Sit.
Hey, hey, thank you.
What?
- Your hair's down.
- So?
You look very beautiful.
Thank you.
Take your shirt off.
It's OK.
What is this?
Is this because of your mom?
It's OK.
Tell me you want me.
- I want you.
- Promise me.
- We need to be quiet.
- OK.
Hey.
I needed someone's help,
and I, uh...
couldn't find Dirk.
I should go clean the kitchen.
- Ester...
- Sorry, Mami.
Ester, hey.
- What was that about?
- Nothing.
Hey, come here. Talk to me.
What happened?
She doesn't want me around you
when she's not there.
She serious? You're not a child anymore.
Stop acting like one.
I'm just being respectful
of my mother.
Now, stop. She's gonna see us
or hear us together
- and she'll be furious.
- Who cares? Come here.
- We can't be in here.
- Why?
Because it's my mother's room
and I'm not allowed in here.
Nobody is.
She's gonna flip out.
She just likes her privacy.
Privacy?
What are you doing?
That's it? Some stupid pictures.
- Don't.
- All she's doing is trying to control you.
Think about it.
She home-schooled you.
She didn't teach you Spanish.
All that does is isolate you.
You got bandages around your chest,
all the crazy rules...
I don't know why she does it,
but she's keeping you away from happiness.
No, no, no, it's because she loves me.
She's just protecting me.
That's not love, Ester.
You're young,
and all you wanna do is get
out of here, and you should.
She's just holding you back.
No, she wants to move, too.
We're saving up money
so we can move.
You just need to go, Ester.
This place is... it's trash.
It drags you down, believe me.
You have to get out of here
before it's too late.
There are certain things
that once you get into...
you can never get out of.
But we need a lot of money
to... to start fresh.
That's another lie, Ester.
Sure, savings are great,
but... you'll get a job.
It won't be easy at first,
but anything
is better than this.
it'll be worth it. Just... go.
It's just a closet.
People don't lock
their closet doors.
Yeah, well, we have strangers
in our house all the time.
Some strange man may come in,
snooping around.
Your mom...
she's... she's hiding
something from you.
- Why would she?
- I don't know.
But when people wanna leave,
they just leave.
Listen to me. Just go away.
You can get a ride with us.
I promise you, anything
will be better than this.
And you deserve better.
But you have to leave
this place to get it.
Can you stay still, please?
Sorry.
Make sure we have enough pills
for both of them.
- What?
- When they finish the deal,
we are going
to take care of them.
But... you said
it's too dangerous.
It's risky,
yeah.
But it will be worth it.
But like you said,
there's two of them,
so if one of them
were to get knocked out first,
then the other might realize
what's happening, and then...
and then he'll shoot us.
We just have to be on top of it.
Separate them when we drug them.
I don't know, Mom.
We've never done it with two.
They will have a lot of money,
Ester.
- But they have guns!
- It's not a battle.
They will not even know
it's coming.
I don't know
what changed with you.
It's too risky, and... and...
it's worse, actually,
because now Ignacio
is feeling better
and we don't even
have the upper hand anymore.
Maybe...
but they are getting
comfortable with us.
Their guard is down.
Just don't lose focus, Ester.
You're the one
who wants to get out of here.
I'm doing this for you.
I want your dreams
to come true.
Just keep your mouth shut.
No matter what these people
say or do, just...
stay quiet.
Stay by the car.
Show me.
You first.
Vamonos. Fuck these...
Where ya goin'?
Oh... Oh, you want to kill me?
OK, go ahead.
You want to explain to your boss
how your eastern pipeline
disappeared?
Austin...
go grab the bags.
Test out the guns.
If you like them,
we can arrange
a full shipment tomorrow.
Ohh.
- You scared me.
- Sorry.
We need to talk.
What is it, Ester?
What?
You need to get out of here,
as soon as possible.
- Why?
- I don't know, I just... I...
I have a bad feeling.
Everything went fine today.
We're going back tomorrow,
and then...
we'll be gone.
Wait, we're...
We're leaving tomorrow?
Well, we can give you...
a ride to Siesta Shores,
but beyond that,
it'd be too dangerous.
No.
No, you said...
You said I could come with you.
I said you could
get a ride with us, Ester.
Look, I think you have a shot
at a different life...
a better life.
And I...
I want to help you,
but this is all that I can do.
Ester, don't... don't do that.
Let's run away together...
just you and me.
It's not that easy, Ester.
Maybe if my life
was different, but...
but with me,
it'll just be more of the same.
What are you doing?
Hey... What...
What you got there?
What you got in that caja?
Hey, we... we...
we amigos.
Me and you, we...
we amigos.
What's in the caja?
You got goodies, eh?
You got goodies.
Where...
where did you get this?
Huh?
No! No.
Where did you get this?
Huh?
No! Whe-Where did you
get this?
Where did you get it?
- Mami?
- What?
"Mami" what?
Do you think
I don't know about this?
Hm?
You think I don't know
what happened in my own home?
And now you try to
sneak around with that boy.
Don't try to outsmart me.
You will lose every time.
All I want is...
your happiness...
and this is how you repay me.
Huh?
OK.
OK.
You will stay here tonight.
I will take care
of them on my own.
Mami, please don't...
Mami!
Ester?
Paco, help me.
She locked me in.
What happened?
Are you OK?
We need to leave right now.
Why? Why did she
lock you in there?
Because she knows
about us.
You have to listen to me.
We need to go, OK?
- Where's Ignacio?
- I think he's upstairs.
- He's talking to your mom.
- There's no time.
Listen, listen, listen.
Ester, I already told you.
We're not running away
together. We can't.
I know, but we have to go.
Paco, you're gonna die
if you don't leave right now.
Look, I'm not leaving,
and I'm certainly not dying here.
My mama's gonna kill you.
Paco, you don't understand.
My mom... she...
she's done this before.
That's what she does. She...
she drugs people
and she drowns them.
You don't sound very tough
saying that, Ester.
I'm telling the truth.
Remember the guest?
He wasn't drunk.
He was drugged.
We were gonna kill him.
"We"?
You...
You mean you...
you do this with her?
Yes.
But...
I would never do that to you.
You kill people?
Yes, because...
because we need the money...
to get out of here.
You understand.
I'm just like you.
No, Ester.
Y-You and I
are nothing alike.
Yes, we are.
You're... you're sick.
No, but we don't...
We don't... We... we only
kill bad people...
people who deserve it.
And... and we don't
make them suffer.
That... that...
that's exactly it.
S-somehow in your...
in y-your...
your fucked-up mind,
with your...
your bullshit excuses
that your
goddamn mother gave you,
you... you... you think
it's OK to kill.
I... I don't.
I don't...
I don't make excuses. I...
I know what I am.
But we do it because...
because...
because we have to survive.
Basta, Ester. Stop.
Stop lying to yourself.
Y-you don't have
to kill, OK? You...
You choose to kill. I...
I know that.
I cho... I chose this.
Maybe I felt like
I had no choices,
but you... you always
have a choice.
I just... I don't like
the options, Ester.
Paco... Paco...
- Paco, please don't go inside.
- Ester...
Paco, please!
Paco!
No, no, no, no.
No, no, don't do this.
Don't do this.
He was a bad boy.
He was one of them,
mijita linda.
No. No, no, no.
Look at this mess. Eh?
And I hope you can understand
what your stupidity causes.
Imbecile!
Ya mi amor, ya mi amor.
Shh shh.
Buenos das.
These aren't very warm.
I'm sorry.
The eggs are really good.
I'm glad you like them.
- Mom?
- Hmm?
Are you happy?
As happy as one can be
with a life like this.
Then let's leave.
Right now.
We cannot.
Why not?
You know why.
The money, Ester.
I can get a job.
Getting a job isn't that easy.
You... You don't have skills.
I can cook...
I can clean.
I don't need anything fancy.
I'll go first,
and I'll get a job,
and once I'm settled,
you can join me.
You will not do that to me...
right?
Abandon me,
after everything
I've done for you?
I'm saying
you can come with me.
And I say no!
Why?
It's been forever, Mom.
What more do you need
for us to leave?
What we do,
it's a good thing.
We are actually making a difference
in the world!
What?!
We are getting rid
of bad people.
We are liberating
their tormented souls!
And by doing that,
we are saving innocent lives.
I want the best for you...
right?
Yes.
Me too, Mami.
Please.
We will leave one day.
Hm?
I love you.
Do you love me?
I love you, Mami.