Heli

'Heli' begins as a touch portrait of the life of a Mexican family; but turns into something darker when they fall into the path of a murderous gang of drug dealers. The film's third section charts what happens afterwards, and is arguably the least satisfactory portion of the movie: it's not that the film is unconvincing, but it's unclear what is added beyond what one might have expected. The ambiguous mood of the ending is arguably a sign of failure rather than success: of a film uncertain of its own point. What is good, on the other hand, is the warm and naturalistic acting, and a believable portrait of everyday dreams and their ending.

Amat Escalante won the Best Director prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and it's easy to see why. "Heli" is an absolutely brilliant and utterly uncompromising study of crime and poverty filmed with a documentary-like precision that makes its scenes of violence virtually unwatchable, (including a scene where a boy's genitals are set on fire). At its core are several extraordinary performances by a young cast who inhabit their roles so completely it's impossible to tell where the actor ends and the character begins. Heli is an 'outlaw' not in any criminal sense, (he is totally innocent), but in the sense that he exists outside the fringes of society and is sucked into a criminal underworld by circumstances totally outside his control, (his young sister's boyfriend has hidden drugs stolen from a drugs cartel inside Heli's home). This is humanist cinema but set in a place almost devoid of humanity. It's frightening, bleak and deeply disturbing but also essential viewing. A masterpiece

This is a brutal Mexican film from director Amat Escalante. I took a shot at it based on his movie, The Untamed. I thought it was a creative entry into the horror genre. Heli is a reality based on the real life drug wars in Mexico. A twelve year-old girl, Estela, has chosen a seventeen year-old as her boyfriend; a really bad choice in her young life. Her brother gets caught in the middle of a battle over some stolen cocaine with horrific consequences. A torture scene is beyond the one in Reservoir Dogs. I found it to move slowly throughout the second half and the ending is not exactly uplifting.

Reviewers will probably emphasize the violence depicted in this movie, and there are about 3 brutal scenes, but they should not be considered the main 'attraction' of this movie. There are tons wonderfully beautiful pictures that overshadow the violence, and I will remember this movie by those. There's a laugh here and there as well (Beto showing his strength, the female detective) and it's cool that all though the events that took place change Heli's life forever, he seems to come out healed in the end. There's hope, which is shown in a beautiful last shot by the way. Go and see it on a big screen if you can !

On his BBC radio show Terry Wogan once described Kenny Rogers' country classic 'Coward of the county' (the song with the unfortunate Becky) as being "about beat-up folk". So too is 'Heli', a film set in México. Its eponymous hero is a young man who works the night shift in order to support his wife (who won't sleep with him) and child. His school-age sister is going out with an army cadet who, Heli discovers, has hidden some cocaine on the family's property...

Except for a couple of action-packed sequences (including a prolonged torture scene that will have every man watching wincing in horrified sympathy) this is a slow-moving film. Common film-makers' mistakes such as shots that last just that little bit too long, and needless sequences (eg: an un-named extra larking about on a police lectern, adding nothing to the story) are in evidence. And it's hard to tell whether Heli's (mostly) passive acceptance of what happens to him and his family is because he is a decent man beaten down by a corrupt system (at one point even the female police officer tries to seduce him) or because actor Armando Espitia doesn't have a wide enough range for the role. But the story is interesting and the film well worth watching; and even if you don't enjoy it, there's a sex scene right at the end which you can look on as a reward for getting that far.