The character is intentionally lightly drawn: Laura's suffering is symbolic, a surrogate for the suffering of a society helplessly caught in the crossfire.
Miss Bala
✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Mexico, United States · 2011
Rated R · 1h 53m
Director Gerardo Naranjo
Starring Stephanie Sigman, Noé Hernández, Irene Azuela, Jose Yenque
Genre Drama, Action
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In a Mexico dominated by organized crime, a young woman clings to her dream of becoming a beauty contest queen.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
Terrifically choreographed, violent and amoral, but never wantonly cruel, Miss Bala is a knockout.
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.
In each tense moment, Miss Bala has a lot to say in a few words.
There's a wild, "Miami Blues"–like dreaminess to the movie that's addictive. If anything, it shows up exactly what "Little Miss Sunshine" lacked: plenty of ammo.
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
Loosely based on real events, this harrowing, superbly made drama by fast-rising filmmaker Gerardo Naranjo (I'm Gonna Explode) is Mexico's 2012 submission for Best Foreign Language Film - rightfully so.
Rolling Stone by Peter Travers
Naranjo, a graduate of the American Film Institute, has a gift for staging action that defines character. The film is a harrowing experience. It cuts deep.
Movieline by Stephanie Zacharek
Naranjo keeps the action tense but understated; instead of allowing explosions and shootouts to pile up, he rations them in taut doses.
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