Directed by:
Amat EscalanteCinematography:
Lorenzo HagermanCast:
Armando Espitia, Andrea Vergara, Linda González, Juan Eduardo Palacios, Reina Torres, Ramón Álvarez, Gabriel Reyes, Laura Saldaña Quintero, Kenny Johnston (more)Plots(1)
In his third film exploring modern Mexican society, Cannes award-winning director Amat Escalante looks unflinchingly at the country’s escalating drug wars and their devastating impact on one fictional family. Heli is uncompromising and graphic in its depiction of the sadistic violence, corruption and climate of fear in which the region’s people must go about their daily lives. Stark, shocking and beautifully photographed, this powerfully affecting film has received worldwide critical acclaim. Heli lives a simple existence in a small house with his father, wife, baby son and 12 year old sister, Estela. When Estela's boyfriend, a young cadet, seeks to change their lives by stealing confiscated cocaine, Heli and his family are caught up in the murderous world of Mexico's drug cartels and the corrupt police they control. (Network)
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The masterful direction, which maintains distance, precisely chooses perspective and framing (when to show everything, when to only indicate), perfectly captures the banality of evil and the suffocating mundaneness of helplessness and fear. Yes, it is cold, withdrawn, unbiased, but at the same time it is completely uncompromising, without a hint of consolation or redemption. The image of the increasingly frustrated protagonist and his tragedy-stricken family gives a chilling feeling that stands out only because the film remains procedurally factual at key moments and does not comment on the world of brutality and injustice. Everything is too mundane. The penises are burning, the grandmother is cooking, the children are watching. Reygadas's influence can be felt in some of this - especially in the non-literacy and surgically accurate capturing of the fleeting atmosphere of everyday life. Discouraging, though very uncomfortable for spectators.
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Photo © Mantarraya Producciones
![Heli - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/162/129/162129211_957afe.jpg)