Review of Miss Bala (2011) by Tom B — 09 Mar 2012

This is a dramatic, creepy, draggingly real and touching good watch. Technically this movie impresses, with solid acting and location shooting, in a fresh way to make you feel a part of the struggles.

This Latin America film is low-key, being removed from Hollywood formulas like modern foreign cinematography, being unusual, distinct and intense. It's independence makes it, with memorable ground-shots and a patience requiring build up to the horror expected.

Miss Bala, tells the mostly believable tale of a beauty queen who survives an event shoot-out and thus has to evade the criminals, as she is the lone eye-witness. Yanked into a world of crime, Guerro survives, with little fight back, playing a usual male role in a drug war thriller.

I enjoyed the film but critics have diluted it's good points with negative criticism over the acting and premise of a modern world cinema piece.