Miss Bala

Miss Bala marks out its own territory from the start with its focus very much on an innocent bystander, and it is from her viewpoint we see the action from the outside. So that as she is unwittingly and unwillingly dragged into the world of the drug cartel, the aspects of the ongoing drug war become far less significant than Laura’s attempts to simply survive what is going on and maybe just maybe come out of it okay. This is certainly an interesting and unusual way of concocting drama, and it does work as a way to get the film's politics across as we see both nightmarish violence and innocents suffering. Alongside we see how criminal elements are able to use their power to gain control of almost anything even, it seems, beauty pageants. It paints a grim picture, but one that for the most part is believable with the film only moving away from what seems conceivable in its last stages, leaving you to wonder how loosely it’s been interpreted from fact.

Yet perhaps the main success of the way the story is told is in the development of tension and atmosphere, which it creates very well indeed; with its minimal score and sparse visuals you’re just waiting for something to explode most of the time. Particularly considering the fact that most of the violence is only suggested, or happens off-screen, making the times it actually occurs on-screen appears more shocking and effective for it and making for some very well constructed and nail-biting scenes. What spoils the effect though is that, whilst director Gerardo Naranjo constructs the tension very well, some of the payoffs towards the end are a little disappointing, meaning that much of the build up feels like a bit of a letdown. Of course though, a film like this depends on the casting of its leading lady Stephanie Sigman who is brilliant throughout. Not only does she look the part as a beauty queen but also, far more importantly, is utterly convincing as she struggles to somehow escape or even come to terms with the truly horrific situation that she is in, making all the horror believable and giving us someone we can genuinely care about.

The result is an intriguing and unusual thriller that deals with its material in an intelligent and entertaining way, with great use of tension even if it is not without its flaws. Still, it is a definitely a vast improvement on most English language thrillers, remaining tense and exciting throughout and is really very good.

Add Comment

You must log in to submit a comment.