Miss Bala
Miss Bala
Miss Bala tells the story of Laura, a young woman whose aspirations of becoming a beauty queen turn against her, delivering her into the hands of a gang that's terrorizing northern Mexico. Although Laura succeeds in winning the beauty queen crown, her experiences as an unwilling participant in Mexico's violent war leave her shaken and transformed.
3.3 out of 5 based on 11 reviews
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Omniscore:
|
| Certificate |
|
| Genre |
Thriller |
| Director |
Gerardo Naranjo |
| Cast |
Stephanie Sigman Noe Hernandez |
| Studio |
Metrodome Group |
| Release Date |
October 2011 |
| Running Time |
83 mins |
| |
Miss Bala tells the story of Laura, a young woman whose aspirations of becoming a beauty queen turn against her, delivering her into the hands of a gang that's terrorizing northern Mexico. Although Laura succeeds in winning the beauty queen crown, her experiences as an unwilling participant in Mexico's violent war leave her shaken and transformed.
Reviews
Time Out
David Jenkins
"On a purely technical level, this is a highly accomplished and original piece of work, with all the action delivered from the perspective of the simpering but tough Sigman. "
27/10/2011
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The Times
Kate Muir
"The director Gerado Naranjo milks the contrast of beauty and the beast superbly. His film is full of adrenalin, while revealing the ambiguities and ruthless power of the drug cartels. "
28/10/2011
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The Scotsman
Alistair Harkness
"Naranjo reveals himself to be a pretty accomplished action director, but it’s his ability to tease out the details of his complex, socially aware story in subtle, sophisticated ways that ensures it remains compelling right to its thrillingly ambiguous ending.
"
28/10/2011
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The Daily Telegraph
Tim Robey
"[A] dizzying drug-war thriller.
"
28/10/2011
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The Sunday Times
Edward Porter
"An exhausting watch: don’t expect one of those thrillers in which an ordinary person responds to danger by suddenly becoming a kick-ass warrior.
"
30/10/2011
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The Observer
Philip French
"We don't learn much about the roots of the present Mexican crimewave or how it might be dealt with, but we do experience in gut-wrenching fashion what it's like to be a victim caught in the crossfire.
"
30/10/2011
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Empire Magazine
Anna Smith
"That innocuous title disguises a Mexican thriller with genuine bite, though the hokey ending doesn't quite live up to the edgy plotting and Sigman's classy turn as a tough heroine in an impossible situation."
24/10/2011
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The Evening Standard
Derek Malcolm
"It is at once an exciting thriller and angry social comment. And the duped Laura, well played by Sigman, suggests that within such a society almost no one escapes intact."
28/10/2001
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The Financial Times
Antonia Quirke
"Violent, loud, frequently thrilling, it whips effectively from super-real scenes of random murder under the blue blur of strip lights to characters gazing sadly out to sea, which crashes eternally on to perfect beaches. "
28/10/2011
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The Guardian
Peter Bradshaw
"Miss Bala is well made, and conceived as something different from the self-conscious pastiche-homage of Rodriguez or Tarantino. It is trying pretty hard for its effects."
27/10/2011
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The Independent
Geoffrey MacNab
"Characters are killed, hung from bridges and dragged behind trucks without anyone showing the slightest hint of emotion."
28/10/2011
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