Super Amigos

The best film I saw last year, and I'm a retired film critic. Very inspiring documentary of social action in Mexico City by way of four separate but parallel stories. By the way, the aesthetic rules of fiction do not apply directly to documentary: not finding out the actual names of the heroes did not matter since we were given enough background, as, for example, in their homes, that their lives were self-evident, especially for the guy against killing bulls and Super Bario. Alas, this film cannot be rented locally (in VAncouver) or purchased on Amazom.com. That says a whole lot about how little an increasingly monopolized film industry, including distribution, values social protest docs.

Sometimes it takes a different perspective to see a previously unrevealed beautiful truth; this film showed me one - that someone who is willing to put conscience above personal fame brings glory not just to himself but to the world we all share. This film is creatively done and wonderful; I found it inspiring to see several people that found a sense of purpose try to make the world a better place, and in the process showing the audience that there IS such a thing as a super-hero, and that the real thing is infinitely more moving (at least for this grown-up) than another fantasy character battling artificial evil. These guys are the real deal, and they understand that it's more important to do good than to be known for it. This world needs more like them, and more films like this.