User reviews

This is a dramatic, creepy, draggingly real and touching good watch. Technically this movie impresses, with solid acting and location shooting, in a fresh way to make you feel a part of the struggles.

This Latin America film is low-key, being removed from Hollywood formulas like modern foreign cinematography, being unusual, distinct and intense. It's independence makes it, with memorable ground-shots and a patience requiring build up to the horror expected.

Miss Bala, tells the mostly believable tale of a beauty queen who survives an event shoot-out and thus has to evade the criminals, as she is the lobe eye-witness. Yanked into a world of crime, Stephanie Sigman survives, with little fight back, playing a usual male role in a drug war thriller.

I enjoyed the film but critics have diluted it's good points with negative criticism over the acting and premise of a modern world cinema piece.

Beware of those viewers who really just want to see another Femme Nikita or something similar with non-stop unrealistic action led by a pretty babe.

Miss Bala isn't like that. (Dumb title though. Why not just keep Miss Baja? Are they afraid we gringos can't handle that name?) This film is about the way innocent Mexicans are caught up in the narco wars when they're just trying to live their own dreams.

In addition to the strong theme, the movie works because the story does more than carry thematic resonance -- there's suspense (which requires patience that the video-gaming generation may not be able to muster) and a very sympathetic central character. No, she's not always active, but she is reactive; she isn't just passively passing through this story. We care about her because she has a dream that has been sullied, because she cares about others (her friend Zuzu and her brother), and because, even after she's been abused, she's willing to take a risk at the end to prevent a murder.

Add all this to a well-shot movie with an unusual but effective mise-en-scenes in many of the beats and very scary bad guys, and, well, the sum of it all is a very strong movie.

By the way, there are no continuity lapses in the story and the finale makes sense -- but again, it's going to take some thinking. This movie is not an American action pic -- there's more thought behind it, and more thought needed to digest it.

I like foreign language films and this is right up there as one which can be enjoyed from beginning to end. It is a Mexican film in Spanish language with perfect subtitles in English on DVD.

The story is of course about a young girl called Laura who has a dream of becoming a Beauty queen while also being a story about how she gets caught up and used in a drugs war.

There is no doubt that Laura is portrayed as a very stubborn character and is presented with opportunities to escape from her dangerous situations but she is possessed of fear what might happen to her Father and Brother.

She has seen that the Mexican police could not be trusted, so who could she trust? The film also illustrates how a drug cartel might also influence the outcome of a Beauty pageant to instill fear and control over one of its participants.

Yes it is a little depressing but a riveting drama thriller to watch. Considering the subject matter, there is nothing graphically sexual and no outlandish bad language, there are a couple of sex scenes but the filming generally is carefully considered and respectable.

I'm an Englishman who has lived seven years in Mexico. I disagree completely with the previous review. I thought this was a remarkable film and scary in what, to me, appears to be a realistic, credible depiction of life in Tijuana. I thought the main actress was exceptional in the way she allows us to view the film through her eyes and shows her increasing trauma and dislocation as she is drawn more and more against her will into the dark world of organized crime, the police, the army and their overlaps. To me the film shows the terrible loss of innocence and the violence that is being perpetrated every day in Mexico against the Mexican people as exemplified and represented by the main character.

This gripping Spanish-language movie titled¨Miss Bala¨ (2009) was well well directed by Gerardo Naranjo with a good Mexican cast , such as : Stephanie Sigman , Juan Carlos Galván , Arturo Guerrero , Noé Hernández , Irene Azuela and the American James Russo . Stars Laura Guerrero (Stephanie Sigman) is a a beautful young who along with her friend , is entering the Miss Tijuana pageant , but she is threatened by cartel . After entering a beauty contest in Tijuana, a young woman witnesses drug-related murders and is forced to do the gang's bidding . Laura escapes unharmed but can't find her friend Suzu (Picazo) , so the next day she looks for her; her dogged behavior brings her to the cartel's attention. Being threatened by a cartel they force her to assist them as they menace her father and younger brother. Lino Valdez (Noé Hernández) , the gang's leader, decides Laura should finish the pageant although her only interest is escape. She really becomes a brave woman who finds a power she never knew she had when she is drawn into a dangerous world of cross-border crime . Laura is sent to USA with money and drugs attached to her but the DEA is still tracking her . Don't Mess with Family !. Who would you become to save your family?. Ordinary Becomes Extraordinary.

Moving, remarkable, fascinating and violent film with action , twists and turns. "Bala" means "Bullet" in Spanish which means the movie is called "Miss Bullet". Corruption , shootouts , violence , drug smuggling and human trafficking are rampant throughout . I have no personal knowledge of whether Tijuana is the lawless frontier presented here , but the focus is really on one woman's ability to find her backbone - her inner strength - in a never-ending stream of risked incidents . This an engaging and worrying drama about a young Mexican woman in a fine big-screen acting from Stephanie Sigman as Laura Guerrero who's forced to assist a drug cartel while taking part as a contestant at Miss Baja pageant . As our starring finds herself unavoidably thrust into a drug cartel's bloody confrontation as an unwitting pawn and her inescapable predicament leads to dire life or death consequences , in which surviving will require all of her cunning , intelligence, inventiveness and strength. Of course this wouldn't work so well if the acting wasn't first rate , and it is indeed , Stephanie provides a stunning , awesome acting. Accompanied by a fine support cast , such as: Juan Carlos Galván, Noé Hernández, Irene Azuela and James Russo. However , there're some incredible situations as the starring contends and flees from a heavily-armed drug gang .

The motion picture produced by the famous Mexican actors : Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal , being professionally directed by Gerardo Naranjo who gives an authenticity to the thrilling events that get still captures young audiences . Naranjo has directed a few nice films . He is a director and producer, known for Voy a explotar (2008), Kokoloko (2020) and Miss Bala (2011), and directing episodes of notorious TV series , such as : Fear of the Walking Dead, The Bridge , El caso Cassez-Vallarta , Interpol: The Rovers and Narcos . Rating : 6/10.

Remade in 2011 , a movie of the same name ¨Miss Bala¨by Catherine Hardwicke , though with no originality because copies the premises of the previous film, being starred by Gina Rodriguez as a Latin-American makeup artist from Los Angeles who visits her best friend Suzu in Tijuana, Mexico, and is threatened by a drug cartel ; also starred by Anthony Mackie, Thomas Dekker , Damian Alcázar and Roberto Sosa.

A very engaging movie. It is a rather strange presentation. You know exactly what is happening but yet have no idea what is going on. That is to say the story itself, if not known before hand, is generally obvious throughout and by the end. Yet the main character Laura is never made clear what her actual involvement is. Why she is doing what she is doing. Her connection to the series of events is often confusing. I enjoyed the movie but it could have used some serious continuity improvement. Why do I have to have 10 lines? This makes ten. This makes eleven. How many more do they need? This now makes fourteen by my count.

This is the story of a 23 year old girl from Tijuana named Laura who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and gets involved involuntarily with a drug lord who forces her to take part in his criminal activities for the following days.

There are two things that really surprised me while watching this film. The first is the directing style, quite unusual but with a purpose I must say: a lot of panning, traveling and sequence shots, to give a certain sense of a documentary type of film. In many scenes, the director lets the camera still with the main character while we only "hear" what's going on around her and also a slow paced direction to allow the viewer get a more personal approach to the main character and what she is going through (I believe). The second one is how realistic it all seems, the language, the characters, the locations and especially a shooting scene between cops and narcos that is just breathtaking.

Of course this wouldn't work so well if the acting wasn't first class, and it is indeed, Stephanie Sigman what a fantastic job, really makes us care for the character.

Like "El Infierno", it reflects a sad reality of what Mexico is currently going through with the fight against drug trafficking, and it isn't pretty at all. However I consider this little gem an essential viewing for movie fans and even film students. Highly recommended.

I gave this film a 7 instead of a 6 because, despite its late half problems, the film is quite watchable and absorbing...if not somewhat enigmatic. Laura is an ordinary Mexican girl who wants to cash in on her looks by becoming Miss Baja Mexico. Unfortunately, an outing with a friend at a popular club propels her into the midst of a drug cartel war where she is ultimately and easily taken hostage (thanks to a corrupt system) and then forced to involve herself in a string of illegal activities.

Where this film begins to falter is with the personality of Laura. She sort of becomes an Elizabeth Smart, the young girl in Utah who was kidnapped from her home and forced to live with her captors and who, despite several good opportunities, never made an effort to escape or resist. Laura's passivity is distracting as we wonder what's wrong with her--is she shell- shocked, does she have Stockholm syndrome, is she just stupid? The director tries to convince us that her motivation to do as she's told comes from her desire to protect her little brother from any retaliatory flak that might come from her disobedience...but you never get the idea that she's being threatened in that way, especially in the last half of the film.

I immediately thought of Maria, Full of Grace when I watched Miss Bala--a much better film about a young girl's involvement with the drug trade, with a solidly built narrative.

There is one sequence in Miss Bala, where beauty queen wannabee Laura is taken from a torrid gun battle seamlessly into the beauty pageant where she changes and, still in shock, appears on stage with the other contestants. It is a moment of surreal genius. The film is a polemic, indicting the corruption and lack of moral fibre that infects Mexico's battle with drug gangs. Much has been made about the authenticity of the film's representation of that situation. Anyone looking to inform themselves of the socio-political situation with regard to Mexico and drugs should start somewhere other than a film. A film's first priority is to provide gripping narrative. Miss Bala has great moments, like the one described above, but at its heart it is the story of a woman caught up inadvertently in a dangerous, absurd situation. She is a victim from start to finish. Personally, I like the protagonist of a film to do something, rather than be continually done to. Laura is taken on a ride, and it is a helluva ride. But she is a passenger, and I wanted her to take the wheel at some point.

And for that reason, the film is visually inventive, occasionally comic and sometimes sad, but on the whole emotionally flat.

MISS BALA is a strong film from Mexico (apparently based on a true account of the unending drug war focused in Tijuana produced by actors Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna and James Russo who has a role in the film as a corrupt DEA agent) - a film that is unafraid to uncover the ruthless activities by the drug cartels, the Mexican police, and the US DEA agents in the endless battle against drug trafficking. It hits like a punch in the stomach and remains in the memory long after the credits have rolled.

Laura Guerrero (Stephanie Sigman) dreams of being a beauty queen in the Miss Baja California Beauty Pageant, a position that will raise her out of her meager existence as a dress maker in the outskirts of Tijuana where she lives with her little brother and father. She and her best friend Zuzu work their way into the line of women vying for the contest title. After winning entry into the pageant Laura reluctantly agrees to go to a sleazy nightclub with Zuzu. In the club's toilets she witnesses the covert entry of an organized drugs cartel led by Lino Valdez (Noe Hernandez). Lino is finds Laura to be attractive and smart, and allows her to escape. However, when Laura reports her missing friend Zuzu to a corrupt Mexican police officer, she finds herself delivered back into the hands of Lino, and entangled ever deeper in a vicious drugs war. She is used as a mule to transport drug money across the border, returning to full fledged gang war. Lino uses her physically and then keeps his promise to have her crowned Miss Baja California, but the title and the events that follow lead to horrors and alienation Laura never dreamed possible.

Writers Mauricio Katz and writer/director Gerardo Naranjo push this expose of just how all consuming the drug traffic problem is at the border. It is terrifying and though Laura seems to be a helpless obeying victim throughout the tale, she represents just how futile it must be to attempt to stand against the atrocious crimes being committed. The power of the film is its willingness to show that both side of the war on drugs - gangs, police, DEA agents, and population - are at fault for allowing this outrage to continue. But business is business and the film hints at how hopeless the situation is. Stephanie Sigman emerges as an actress of importance and her part in this film will remain indelibly burned on the minds of the viewers. We should all see this film.

Grady Harp

Good girl Laura Guerro and her friend Suzu enter and qualify for the Miss Baja pageant. Laura is waiting for Suzu at a nightclub when a drug gang breaks in to kill the drug enforcement cops. She escapes from the massacre and tries to find Suzu. She seeks help from a cop but he calls in a gang who kidnaps her. The gangleader takes an interest in her and makes her compete in the pageant. He kidnaps her father and little brother pulling her further into the crime family.

This is a wild crazy crime drama. This movie is nuts. One really feels for Laura. I wish she has a drug gang watchdog on her for the whole movie. She needs another person to build a relationship, have conversations and to interact with. Her character needs to show more struggle. Of course, the gang has her in complete control. The only way for her to show some spark is through some dialog with another person. That's the main thing missing here.

I am from Mexico so my view is both influenced for better or for worse. In my opinion, the movie lacks sequential logic and bad management of times. The long pauses that want to give a strong effect tend to be overused and boring. In the reality check, i think the movie just takes advantage of a similar case of Miss Sinaloa 2009, when she was detained with drug lords and the very hurtful situation in Mexico which is the violence. It incorrectly portrays a Mexico that is suffering a fight between drug cartels that are fueled by the US drug consumption. Some scenarios are very real and a reality in some cities but the hotel scene is absurd. The DEA agent where they take something from her in front of her house is also absurd. I felt that the movie is only trying to capitalize on a delicate theme that is in every Mexican as a first concern. Even the acting of the lead female lacks any quality, has just a few dialogs and irrational actions. I was looking forward to this film but greatly disappointed.

One of the most exciting young talents around, the Mexican director Gerardo Naranjo approaches the hot-button topic of drug violence through the perspective of an unlikely, unwitting heroine: a Tijuana beauty pageant contestant (Stephanie Sigman) who stumbles into the path of ruthless cartel operatives and corrupt officials. Although inspired by a true story, Miss Bala avoids docudrama clichés and tabloid sensationalism, and instead evokes the pervasive climate of fear and confusion that has enveloped daily life in some increasingly lawless pockets of northern Mexico. Using long takes and fluid, precise camera work, Naranjo fashions a highly original thriller: an anguished and harrowing mood piece with an undertow of bleakly absurdist humor and moments of heart-stopping action. A Fox International Productions release.

Some movies just feel like documentaries. This one would be a good companion piece to Sicario. Completely different point of view mind you (not to mention different crime area), but it would fit mood wise. Having said that, Sicario still is superior in many ways of course, but this has a lot of punches and it doesn't pull them.

You may not be familiar with practices in certain areas and how you should react or better yet not react to them. While it may sound logic to go to the cops, that's not always wise. Then again, there are also deals you cannot pass. Especially if the involve your life being threatened. A little bonus doesn't hurt anybody and the movie will not answer all the questions you'll have ... Just like real life then (if you live in a very bad area like that)

A damning indictment on the drugs trade in Mexico, this film highlights the plight of many that fall into the clutches of these gangs. I did enjoy the rough and ready style of filming; you really felt you were right in the heart of the action… maybe a little too close at times! Although I enjoyed it I did feel it was lacking a certain something. I think it was a sense of menace from the gang leader, Lino; he just didn't seem to have enough malice about him to make Laura fear him so much. Maybe I'm wrong but that's how I saw it. Over all though a film that's well worth a look (if you can do battle with the subtitles).

SteelMonster's verdict: RECOMMENDED

My score: 6.9/10

You can find an expanded version of this review on my blog: Thoughts of a SteelMonster.

The drug cartels of northern Mexico have corrupted many aspects of life there; in 'Miss Bala', a depressingly believable story is told about how they event infect a beauty pageant. But exactly how or why is never quite clear: the plot in this film is muddled, the motivations of the lead character are never completely unravelled, and the limited budget is also only too obvious at times: lots of scenes are shot in close up in ways that doesn't serve the movie's purpose (nor clarify what is actually happening), but which was presumably cheaper than shooting wide-angle. In the end, one gets the broad picture, and the horror of individual episodes, but the two are not properly linked. It's a shame, as it's an important subject, and one of more dramatic potential had it been better executed.

Missed entire movie except last 20 minutes waiting for popcorn so last 20 good

The story of a young woman (Stephanie Sigman) clinging on to her dream to become a beauty contest queen in a Mexico dominated by organized crime.

Living in Wisconsin, I know precious little about the Mexican border. But I have written articles on foreign policy and how America's decisions have affected the gangs of Mexico. This film showcases some of that, focusing on the darkest possible angle.

Actress Stephanie Sigman is incredible, having to be a very visual actress in this film: we see her silently cringing or running from gunfire more than she speaks. But I think that this may be harder than just delivering dialogue: her character is kidnapped by gangsters, forced to commit criminal acts, constantly being faced with the possibility of death.

While the gangsters here are ruthless, and rightfully so, there was a political point being made that did not escape me: the presence of DEA agents in Mexico. Whether or not you support the war on drugs, there is good reason to question how American police can patrol the streets of Mexico. Do Mexican federales drive around El Paso? I think not. Their presence does not justify the violence from the gangs, but it does raise the question of why a foreign power is facing a domestic problem.

Beauty stands out from its surroundings. This is both good and bad. A Tijuana beauty pageant is the vehicle for Laura to get noticed by the larger world, but unfortunately it is the wrong type of crowd that is paying attention. Indifferent and shady characters cast her into an underworld and strive to use her for their own interests. However Laura keeps her wits about her, makes useful observations and strives for a way out of the darkness.

Miss Bala captures the real violence, corruption and terror that has claimed tens of thousands of innocent lives and destroyed many more along our Southern border. Good and evil blur together and are hardly distinguishable. Understanding and caring about what is really going on will help us find away forward. Laura helps us comprehend it all. North American premiere seen at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Why is this film entitled "Miss Bala"? It should be "Miss Baja". From the title to direction, acting and even film editing, this movie doesn't live up to the script. It's a story from the headlines, seen through the eyes of an innocent young woman. The story weaves drug violence and corruption through a young girl's dream of becoming Miss Baja....or Miss Bala. Trouble is, the heroine seems stupid and weak, and doesn't seem any wiser at the end of the story. Many scenes are poorly lit and take too long. None of the other characters, except maybe the drug kingpin, seem real; more like cartoon gangsters, policemen, beauty pageant officials and soldiers on both sides. It's worth watching. With the same script in the hands of a better director, technical staff and actors, it could have been amazing.

I had great expectations for this movie, Since they were promoting it a lot. To be honest it is the worst movie I've seen in the last 5 or so years. They theme was promising but the acting is lacking, the directing is with no personality and the photography still desirable. All those points apart the story-telling is awful they try to portrait a México that is not the real one, there is furious war between cartels and the federal government and they tried to exploit that and a case from miss Sinaloa '09 but still hurtful to see how they try so bad to make it work. We can overcome the bad acting if we had a good directing but to be honest the use of "moving" shots is abusive to create a scenario,a lot of the scenes are non-real even though there is a war between cartels, even though they exploit the actal situation in México still not credible to me. I'm might be bias since I am Mexcican born and raise in Culiacán, Sinaloa. Still better love story than twilight though.