Synopsis
The story of a young woman clinging on to her dream to become a beauty contest queen in a Mexico dominated by organized crime.
2011 Directed by Gerardo Naranjo
The story of a young woman clinging on to her dream to become a beauty contest queen in a Mexico dominated by organized crime.
Canana Fox International Productions Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía Consejo Nacional para la cultura y las artes Nuevos Negocios DM San Luis Promecap, S.A de C.V. Estímulo Fiscal Fondo de Inversión y Estímulos al Cine (FIDECINE)
Miss Bala: I vasilissa tis omorfias, Мисс Пуля, Міс Куля, 选美小姐, מיס בלה, 미스 발라, Miss kulka, Міс Бала
Huge difference between this 2011 Spanish version vs the 2019 Hollywood remake of Miss Bala. It’s a crime drama that follows Laura, played by Stephanie Sigman, a young woman from Tijuana with dreams of being crowned Miss Bala happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time during a drug cartel attack. Raw performance by Sigman. This was a nightmare scenario from her viewpoint as she descends deeper into the drug trafficking world. It’s visceral. Very slow-paced while the camera was planted in uncomfortable situations as it relies on the lead’s visual expression to convey constant despair. There were artistic choices of panning and sequences of traveling in the quietness. It is confusing at times because they don't…
In my review of the remake of this film, I mentioned that I've been wanting to watch this original for a while now, and fortunately, it exceeded my expectations.
First of all, this and the Genesis Rodriguez version couldn't be more different. Unlike the latter, which is a generic Hollywood action flick with great actors shooting left and right, this original takes an approach that reminded me very much of Villenueve's Sicario. The film has long stretches of silence, an unnerving silence that kept me on the edge of my seat and made the scenes when violence erupts that much more intense. When the camera lingers on certain scenes or a character, it is to display tension or emotions more…
Gerardo Naranjo brings us a well constructed and emotionally charged action-fest from deep inside the Mexican war on organised crime between the heavily armed federal police, and the even more heavily armed crime-lords of the cartel.
Laura just wants to be a beauty queen, but gets caught up with the gang when her friend is shot in an exchange between the two parties. Before she knows it, she's in deep, running errands and being used as a mule per the photo on the film poster.
The film does a good job of illustrating this tense and dangerous Mexican street life, and despite it being a story that's been told many times before is still mostly entertaining.
OK, that's it for this year's March around the world. 60 films from 60 different countries in 18 days was pretty intense. It may be Star Wars or Marvel re-watches next.
This movie felt like getting hit by a truck. This is a terrible depressing film about a woman who gets dragged into a situation with the cartel. It is genuinely depressive, both in the story and how it's filmed. There's an intense focus on Stephanie Sigman with how this is directed. We just stare at her in every scene. The camera sits on her face in long shots and we see all of her emotions and thoughts for nearly the entire movie. She carries this movie completely and does an amazing job. I'm actually surprised that this director, Gerardo Naranjo, hasn't had more films as successful as this. The directing is the best part. It's constantly intense and moving. Once it started I couldn't look away. This is an amazing movie.
Shocked at how few people have seen this. Plenty of narrative and thematic parallels to Sicario, and predates it by years. The pacing is a bit inconsistent at times, but it still manages to be relentless thanks to some fantastic performances and the absolutely incredible and immersive cinematography. I've got no interest in the remake, but glad it reminded me to finally catch up with this one. Well worth the rental.
79/100
[originally written as part of my A.V. Club coverage from Cannes '11]
One of the pleasures of the festival circuit is watching a new filmmaker develop into a major talent right before your eyes. After seeing Gerardo Naranjo’s small but assured Drama/Mex at Toronto in 2006, I filed him away as someone to watch, and that sense of promise was only strengthened when the New York Film Festival showcased his Godard-influenced I’m Gonna Explode a couple of years later, even if that film seemed rockier than its predecessor. With Miss Bala, screening here in Un Certain Regard, Naranjo has officially arrived—so much so that I suspect people will look back at the lineup in years to come and marvel…
I can understand if people find this exploitative, but for me its feminist cred is all in the costuming.
79/100
[originally written on my blog]
Previously addressed at Cannes, where I somewhat exaggerated, I see now, its potential commercial appeal—Naranjo's expertly choreographed sequence-shot "action" setpieces do thrill, but in the rarefied manner of e.g. Jancsó's The Red and the White, not à la M. Mann or even De Palma. Sticking to my guns on the feminist reading, though, which reaches its apotheosis at the moment when Laura's shoved onto the pageant stage (minutes after surviving a bloody shootout) and is asked by the unctuous host which she desires more: wealth or fame? Some have complained that she lacks agency, but there's an important distinction between being powerless and being a victim; Naranjo repeatedly provides her with choices that aren't…
Before Widows, the trailer for Miss Bala played. It looked interesting, but something about the plot versus the action and fiery proclamation of “GINA RODRIGUEZ IS MISS BALA” seemed...weird.
Turned out it was a remake of this film, and I usually like to see originals before American remakes, so...
If the tone of the remake’s trailer is anything to go by, then it might turn out to be one of the most tone-deaf remakes in years. Becoming a gun-wielding badass due to being among the cartel is so far removed from anything in the original Miss Bala that calling the upcoming one a “remake” seems like a joke.
2012’s Miss Bala is a narco thriller from the perspective of a…
Part of my Double Feature Challenge (2)
I was completely unaware of this film until the 2019 English remake was promoted. Intrigued by the premise of a young woman trapped into working for a cartel, I decided to see the original Spanish-language film first before watching the new movie on DVD.
This production from Mexico was written and directed by Gerardo Naranjo, "loosely based on a real incident, in which 2008's Miss Sinaloa, Laura Zúñiga, was arrested with suspected gang members in a truck filled with munitions outside Guadalajara, Jalisco." According to Naranjo, he had no interest in exploring the psyche of gang members. He just wanted to "live the experience from the point-of-view of an innocent person."
Living in…
Miss Bala is a pretty harrowing and well-directed crime film. I didn't feel much emotion while watching it, but it is disturbing nonetheless. Lead actress Stephanie Sigman is great. I will be skipping Catherine Hardwicke's PG-13 American remake. Doing a sanitized version of such a fucked-up story is the real vulgarity.