the audience applauded

Strong and Moving!

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

This makes movies like Scarface look second rate. It's well made and high quality. The subject matter is impressively dealt with, though there are no surprises for those that know the subject.The characters have real warmth, even though the events are presented in cold, brutal fashion.Most movies about the drug wars have a small Latino element. They assume the person watching has never heard of Mexico, they have clichéd characters and information overload so the movie-goer is 'educated'.The story packs in quite a lot, but in a relaxed style.It's probably one of the most believable gangster movies ever made. The characters are well developed. They never apologise for what they're doing, but they're aware of what they're doing.Worth watching before if you're about to snort cocaine. Just to see where your money goes.

I enjoyed this movie, but I have yet to see a film show the depth of narco-violence in full honesty. Many related films (e.g. Infierno, Coyote, Sicario) touch on it, but they pull back always, and right when realism calls for naturalism (i.e. Today, a "simple" gun execution is considered a merciful fate; decapitations are a manner of death and do not occur after death). For instance, Infierno would have been a far different film had the Zetas been presented (although they are alluded to when Reyes gets help from the City of Reynosa). One has only to view how Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel compete with decapitation videos to understand that while Infierno has moments of suspense and horror, it does not create an overwhelming sense f dread.Well acted and photographed otherwise.

As a Mexican who lives in México I have to say that it is very different to read the stories about crime, death, drugs, etc. in the newspapers than watching this film that put names and faces to the people involved in this kind of lifestyle. Some of the reviewers are very offended with the stereotypes in this movie, but it is undeniable that this movie portrays just one piece of reality about a part of our society. The offensive part should be that the rest of us live our lives normally without thinking about these things. It seems that many of us live in a different country, so far from this hell, and this movie is a great remainder of the problems we have as a country. I think that many of us are indifferent to these problems; we do not even imagine that this "war" affects all of us. I have read some reviews in which the way of telling the story is questioned and criticised. Many people think that the comedy is unnecessary, that it is a safe and easy way to say this kind of things, but I wonder if people are ready to pay to watch a film that does not involve comedy or any kind of humorous situation... sad but true, our TV and cinema culture is pathetic. Good for Luis Estrada, not everything is tequila, mariachi loco, spring break and telenovelas in México.

This is by far one of the most intense, realistic and utterly depressing portrait of Mexican reality nowadays. Given the fact that this film was released as part of the Mexican Independence Bicentennial, it is a slap in the face of the society, the government and the organised crime. Its tag line says it all: "Nothing to celebrate".With much of irony, black comedy, and criticism, it disses everybody and everything: from the corrupted government institutions of a failed state, to the hypocrisy of a rotten Catholic church, to a de-humanised and selfish society. This film accurately reflects the current situation in Mexico. And it does with such mastery and accuracy, it shocks the viewer.Best Mexican film this year by a wide margin. And one of the bests of all time.