Heli (2013)

Load of rubbish!!

Good movie but grossly overrated

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

'Heli' begins as a touch portrait of the life of a Mexican family; but turns into something darker when they fall into the path of a murderous gang of drug dealers. The film's third section charts what happens afterwards, and is arguably the least satisfactory portion of the movie: it's not that the film is unconvincing, but it's unclear what is added beyond what one might have expected. The ambiguous mood of the ending is arguably a sign of failure rather than success: of a film uncertain of its own point. What is good, on the other hand, is the warm and naturalistic acting, and a believable portrait of everyday dreams and their ending.

An independent Mexican crime-drama. It was chosen to represent the country in the 86th academy awards. The story of a brother and sister. The responsibility of the brother was showcased when his family was torn by outraged men belong to the drug trafficking. Just another side story of the movie 'Trade' between a family, law and brutal world.In a small desert town, Heli, in his 20s lives with his dad and a teen sister Estela. He's married and has a little baby. He and his dad work for the same automobile factory while his sister is at school. An army camp is held for nearby their village. Estela's secret relationship and army's raid on drug dealers, all these lead to get involved in an affair for this little family. The corrupted law is not an option to rely so Heli must stand his own and fight. The world he's after is not for a person like him, he had left no choice other than going for it.It was a good movie in the aspect of exhibiting the contests. The synopsis says, it is a heroic movie. Heli won't just go into the underworld and smack everyone down. The presentation was in realistic approach. A very well told story with limited characters and dialogues. Yes the movie talks less and displays more, but not completely. Leaves many unsolved mysteries, though it makes you sure you understand without showing the other side of the narration. It's better as now than revealing everything because it could have been lots of violence. A couple of scenes were raw and violent. A bit disturbing as well.The problem with this movie was the rest of the world received it well, but the natives did not. The reason is the country was portrayed in the bad shade. Like the one we always see in the Hollywood movies which denoted how dangerous is their neighbor. The flaw and the misuse in the law enforcement, especially people from isolated place had to face their problem by themselves. So Mexico's not the only one to have issues like this, but many other parts of the world do. The filmmaker hailed from there so he did this. Remember this movie is better compared to 'Trade' which was more disturbing. In the end, both these movies were not neglectable, because of the plot it showcase was one of the actual crimes that happens everywhere.

On his BBC radio show Terry Wogan once described Kenny Rogers' country classic 'Coward of the county' (the song with the unfortunate Becky) as being "about beat-up folk". So too is 'Heli', a film set in México. Its eponymous hero is a young man who works the night shift in order to support his wife (who won't sleep with him) and child. His school-age sister is going out with an army cadet who, Heli discovers, has hidden some cocaine on the family's property...Except for a couple of action-packed sequences (including a prolonged torture scene that will have every man watching wincing in horrified sympathy) this is a slow-moving film. Common film-makers' mistakes such as shots that last just that little bit too long, and needless sequences (eg: an un-named extra larking about on a police lectern, adding nothing to the story) are in evidence. And it's hard to tell whether Heli's (mostly) passive acceptance of what happens to him and his family is because he is a decent man beaten down by a corrupt system (at one point even the female police officer tries to seduce him) or because actor Armando Espitia doesn't have a wide enough range for the role. But the story is interesting and the film well worth watching; and even if you don't enjoy it, there's a sex scene right at the end which you can look on as a reward for getting that far.

Hard to know what to make of this film. It is very well acted and beautifully shot: every moment is completely believable. But it is also profoundly depressing. Heli, a young father and factory worker, and his 12-year-old sister are caught up in a ferocious explosion of violence when the sister's boyfriend, a young soldier, tries to steal some drugs. The theft is soon uncovered, and Heli and the boyfriend are subjected to some of the most brutal torture ever depicted on the screen. The plight of these young people is pretty well hopeless, since it's almost impossible to tell the difference between drug dealers, police and soldiers: even minding one's own business is not enough to protect ordinary people from being destroyed. The movie is, therefore, ultimately shocking and dispiriting, and one assumes this was Escalante's intention: to testify, unflinchingly, to the horrors of Mexico's drug war. But the brutality of the torture scenes comes close to being complacent: worst of all is that young children witness and participate in them as if such mutilation and killing was as normal as a game of sandlot baseball. One comes away with very little hope for Mexico's future, and with nagging questions about the relations between violence and art. Is the depiction of casual, merciless cruelty ever really justified?