Review of Narco Cultura (2013) by Alex R — 03 Mar 2014

Engaging documentary on narcotic traffickers and how they've become a popular source of inspiration for young people looking to escape poverty. The footage is intense, fascinating and eye opening. The filmmakers show the subjects who they really are, lowlifes and scumbags.

The singers in the film may think they're doing something great, but they're nothing more than glorified thugs give the Mexican culture a bad name. Add to that, that they take inspiration from drug kingpins, and it's a shocking aspect that you simply cannot believe.

These upcoming artists are gaining momentum through their music which is filled with violent content, taken from the real live drug wars waged in Mexico. This is a riveting film, one that manages to tell an impressive, shocking story, and the filmmakers craft a film that doesn't shy away from its subject and is a memorable documentary.

I had high hopes that Narco Cultura would be a great documentary, but after seeing it, I felt that it left some important details out, and in some aspects, the filmmakers could have gone deeper in the film's subject.

Narco Cultura is interesting for what it tries to accomplish, but at times it does leave a bit to be desired in terms of content. There is no denying that the subject presented in this documentary is very good, but the filmmakers could have done a bit better as well.

Narco Cultura is good, but it never is great, and it does fall short of what it could have been. You'll get an interesting portrait of this unique culture of artists who take inspiration from the Mexican Drug war, but at the same time, you'll get a feeling these "artists" are nothing more than scumbags who try to gain fame by idolizing drug dealers and singing about their exploits.