Miss Bala

I like foreign language films and this is right up there as one which can be enjoyed from beginning to end. It is a Mexican film in Spanish language with perfect subtitles in English on DVD.

The story is of course about a young girl called Laura who has a dream of becoming a Beauty queen while also being a story about how she gets caught up and used in a drugs war.

There is no doubt that Laura is portrayed as a very stubborn character and is presented with opportunities to escape from her dangerous situations but she is possessed of fear what might happen to her Father and Brother.

She has seen that the Mexican police could not be trusted, so who could she trust? The film also illustrates how a drug cartel might also influence the outcome of a Beauty pageant to instill fear and control over one of its participants.

Yes it is a little depressing but a riveting drama thriller to watch. Considering the subject matter, there is nothing graphically sexual and no outlandish bad language, there are a couple of sex scenes but the filming generally is carefully considered and respectable.

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 lobe eye-witness. Yanked into a world of crime, Stephanie Sigman 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.

Throughout the ongoing drug conflict in Mexico, multiple stories have come to the media attention without being entirely clear for everybody.

Miss Bala shows the connection between models and young attractive drug cartels, women that have been in some occasions being misjudged by a narrow idea of the current dynamics in many Mexican towns and cities.

Not a black and white context movie that accurately shows the many sides of a conflict and a war that has been reduced to a body count.

With a very good construction of characters, the film shows the inside and probably the reasons that make the drug conflict in Mexico one without an easy way out.

Highly recommended to get a wider idea of what people are going on right now, either as a civilian, a cop or a hit-man for a drug cartel.

I'm an Englishman who has lived seven years in Mexico. I disagree completely with the previous review. I thought this was a remarkable film and scary in what, to me, appears to be a realistic, credible depiction of life in Tijuana. I thought the main actress was exceptional in the way she allows us to view the film through her eyes and shows her increasing trauma and dislocation as she is drawn more and more against her will into the dark world of organized crime, the police, the army and their overlaps. To me the film shows the terrible loss of innocence and the violence that is being perpetrated every day in Mexico against the Mexican people as exemplified and represented by the main character.

Beware of those viewers who really just want to see another Femme Nikita or something similar with non-stop unrealistic action led by a pretty babe.

Miss Bala isn't like that. (Dumb title though. Why not just keep Miss Baja? Are they afraid we gringos can't handle that name?) This film is about the way innocent Mexicans are caught up in the narco wars when they're just trying to live their own dreams.

In addition to the strong theme, the movie works because the story does more than carry thematic resonance -- there's suspense (which requires patience that the video-gaming generation may not be able to muster) and a very sympathetic central character. No, she's not always active, but she is reactive; she isn't just passively passing through this story. We care about her because she has a dream that has been sullied, because she cares about others (her friend Zuzu and her brother), and because, even after she's been abused, she's willing to take a risk at the end to prevent a murder.

Add all this to a well-shot movie with an unusual but effective mise-en-scenes in many of the beats and very scary bad guys, and, well, the sum of it all is a very strong movie.

By the way, there are no continuity lapses in the story and the finale makes sense -- but again, it's going to take some thinking. This movie is not an American action pic -- there's more thought behind it, and more thought needed to digest it.