Cannes 2011 Review: MISS BALA
rating: 4
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Director Gerardo Naranjo is no stranger to the Croisette following Drama/Mex, which screened during Critics Week in 2006. His latest feature, Miss Bala, is screening as part of the Un Certain Regard at this years Festival. The movie is set in Mexico, where gangs rule the streets, with a police force that is riddled with corruption. Miss Bala tells us the story of Laura Guerrero, a young woman who dreams of one day winning the Miss Baja California beauty pageant. After auditioning for the contest Laura finds herself at a warehouse party, upon following her friend, and things soon turn sinister as Laura becomes caught up in a shoot-out involving a gang who raid the gathering. Noe Hernandez stars as crime boss Lino. Despite this being Hernadez's first feature length production, his performance is one of seemingly far more accomplishment than on his CV. In the scenes they share, he manages to draw attention from the often uncomfortably weak delivery from Stephanie Sigman, playing Laura, who is in equally unfamiliar territory here having previously appeared only in minor TV roles. The movie is beautifully shot and this helps provide a final product that more than holds its own weight when compared with many of the bigger budget movies from within the genre. It is a filming style which strongly resembles that of No Country For Old Men, often so much so that it could quite easily be mistaken as a Coen Brothers productions. There are numerous scenes where the camera will be set rigidly on Sigman, from often unconventional angles which linger for minutes - allowing viewers to fully absorb the tension of the scene. At times, however, this one-long-shot mechanic becomes a distraction to the narrative. One particular scene, with a camera fixed to the front of a vehicle as it passes through rough terrain, left me with a feeling that it was somewhat of an after-thought, with it failing to deliver the impact I feel had been intended. The movie, at just under 2 hours long, comes close to out staying its welcome by the end, as the story is very linear and driven by one simple plot. And it is plot which is, at times, rather thinly adressed. But Naranjo is quite clearly a director who has a solid future, with a movie in Miss Bala which is sure to see him receive global recognition. The movie is released in Mexico in September of this year via Fox International, though its likely UK viewers will need to seek-out the movie on DVD at some point in 2012. Bring the festival experience home this year on Blu-ray Disc keep up to date with all the latest Blu-ray news at the Blu-ray Disc Reporter.