Scene and heard

As with my other film reviews, I will not give away the story beyond what you would see in any other review. This film is, for the most part, the story of a young Mexican gang member whose conscience gets the better of him. He winds up running from his old gang, who are determined to kill him. Before his flight, he introduces his 12 year old brother to the gang, and while on the run, he meets a young Honduran girl who is on her way to the USA with her father and uncle. Although we see her before the two meet, there is no doubting who the story is really about.

And what a story! To be sure, this is not easy viewing. It is tense and violent with no shortage of conscience-free sadism from the gang members. But it is so gripping, you might feel exhausted when it is over.

I consider this to be the best film I have seen in a very long time. Certainly considerably better than Slumdog Millionaire, which I loved. I have to say, if this was an English language film, it would be unlikely to not win the Oscar. Will there be 5 better films than this in 2009? I doubt there have been 5 better films than this any year ever! But such is the way the Academy works, it will be a pleasant surprise if it is one of the nominees.

This isn’t a date movie; at least not for early in a relationship. But it is a film that will have you wanting to talk about it, once your superlatives stop flowing and the stunned feeling you experience lightens.