Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Davos 2012
Technology
Media
Small Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Summits
Business Video
The Freeland File
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
India Insight
World Video
Reuters Investigates
Decoder
Politics
Politics Home
Election 2012
Issues 2012
Candidates 2012
Tales from the Trail
Political Punchlines
Supreme Court
Politics Video
Tech
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Tech Tonic
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
John Lloyd
Felix Salmon
Jack Shafer
David Rohde
Bernd Debusmann
Nader Mousavizadeh
Lucy P. Marcus
David Cay Johnston
Bethany McLean
Edward Hadas
Hugo Dixon
Ian Bremmer
Mohamed El-Erian
Lawrence Summers
Susan Glasser
The Great Debate
Steven Brill
Geraldine Fabrikant
Breakingviews
Equities
Credit
Private Equity
M&A
Macro & Markets
Politics
Breakingviews Video
Money
Money Home
Tax Break
Global Investing
MuniLand
Unstructured Finance
Linda Stern
Mark Miller
John Wasik
James Saft
Analyst Research
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Money Clip
Life
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Reuters TV
Reuters News
Article
Comments (0)
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Supreme Court throws out Texas election maps
20 Jan 2012
Romney lowers expectations in South Carolina
12:01am EST
Stephen Colbert "campaigns" in South Carolina
20 Jan 2012
Congress puts brakes on anti-piracy bills
12:01am EST
Obama sings a tune, steals the online show
20 Jan 2012
Discussed
123
Romney opens 21-point lead in South Carolina: Reuters/Ipsos poll
112
Obama set to reject Keystone oil pipeline: sources
112
Supreme Court rejects judge-drawn Texas election maps
Watched
A dangerous walk to school
Fri, Jan 20 2012
Obama breaks into song at the Apollo
Fri, Jan 20 2012
Bomb blasts hit Nigeria's Kano
Fri, Jan 20 2012
"Miss Bala" puts human face on Mexico's drug war
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Related News
Tom Russell sings of life from Hollywood to Mexico
Thu, Jan 19 2012
"The Artist", "The Help" big Critics' Choice winners
Fri, Jan 13 2012
Mexico goalkeeper arrested for helping kidnap gang
Sun, Jan 8 2012
Mexico turns up the heat on drug lord Guzman
Thu, Jan 5 2012
Mexico drug lord pleads guilty to U.S. trafficking
Thu, Jan 5 2012
Analysis & Opinion
Good night Good morning: Talk isn’t cheap
The Kodak tragedy
Related Topics
Entertainment »
Fashion »
Film »
Mexico »
Actress Stephanie Sigman is shown in a scene from the film ''Miss Bala' in this publicity photo released to Reuters January 20, 2012. In a ripped-from-the-headlines story, the new movie ''Miss Bala,'' which opens in limited U.S. release on Friday, tells the harrowing tale of a small-town Mexican beauty named Laura who inadvertently becomes involved with a violent drug lord.
Credit: Reuters/Eniac Martinez Ulloa/Canana/Handout
By Iain Blair
LOS ANGELES |
Fri Jan 20, 2012 5:18pm EST
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In a ripped-from-the-headlines story, the new movie "Miss Bala," which opens in limited U.S. release on Friday, tells the harrowing tale of a small-town Mexican beauty named Laura who inadvertently becomes involved with a violent drug lord.
Directed and co-written by Gerardo Naranjo and executive produced by Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal of "Y Tu Mama Tambien" fame, the film takes a cold, hard look at Mexico's devastating drug war and its effect on the country and people.
Naranjo and Luna talked to Reuters about making the film and its message.
Q: Is it true that this film was inspired by a newspaper story you read?
Naranjo: "Yes, I saw this story about drugs and weapons smuggling and this beautiful young woman who was accused of working for a drug cartel. And then we started researching about how you can smuggle guns from the U.S. to Mexico so easily. No one will search your car coming that way."
Luna: "And when we shot the scene where Laura drives across the border with all this money hidden under her dress, we had a camera and shot with no permits or anything, and nobody stopped her. That tells you everything. You don't even have to hide the weapons in the trunk. When you cross into Mexico, it's no problem."
Naranjo: "Going the other way, into the U.S., you just have to pay more money, but it's still possible. Otherwise, how do all these drugs get across the border?"
Q: This was Stephanie Sigman's (Laura) first starring role. Were you nervous about casting a newcomer in the lead role?
Naranjo: "No, as I felt she had this inner strength that was right for the role. She has a lot of dignity, even when she's abused. Some people have told me she's too passive -- why doesn't she just grab a gun and shoot them? But that's just ridiculous. I think movies have mis-educated us about violence. We think we can fight back against gangs and criminals in these situations, but you can't. It's not realistic, and I wanted to make a realistic film about a real problem.
Q: That begs the question, what sort of film did you set out to make? Simply a crime thriller, or was there something more? As you say, it's a real problem.
Naranjo: "At the start I wanted to show it all -- the terrible violence, the beheadings, the dismemberments, all the inhumanity (of the drug wars). But then I realized that was just too much. If I'd shown you all the dead bodies and all the drugs, it'd be just like any other movie."
Luna: "So we never show you any actual drugs. But you understand what's going on, and Gerardo gives you enough information for you to create a whole world in your head and live through the struggles Laura goes through."
Q: Were you worried that a film dealing with such serious issues could easily end up being preachy?
Naranjo: "Of course, and I didn't want that, so that's why I cut down the dialogue to a minimum. When a robber's robbing a bank, he's not explaining what he's doing. He just does it. So we didn't want to over-explain things. We just wanted to show the problems and the criminal activity without being tempted to draw conclusions about it. I don't know the answers, and we didn't want to say, these guys are the guilty ones, or the government is guilty. But I do know certain things, like if you're caught in a shoot-out, you're very afraid, and ordinary civilians are having their lives destroyed by these drug wars. In the last five years, it's escalated and now the violence is everywhere."
Q: Can you see any solution to the current situation?
Naranjo: "No, because it's a buyer's market for the drugs. If they make the border wall eight times bigger, they'll still get the drugs in by planes or tunnels or by boat. You'll never stop it while there's the demand."
Luna: "And there's so much talk about corruption in Mexico, but it's also huge here in the States -- just on different levels. And the drug business is so huge now and so easy. It gives you all the economic chances your country doesn't give you."
Naranjo: "The big difference is we have very well-known criminals in Mexico, but once the drugs cross the border, it seems like they distribute themselves magically. They're no famous drug dealers in the U.S."
(Reporting by Iain Blair, Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
Entertainment
Fashion
Film
Mexico
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
Entertainment News From the Wrap
'Beasts of the Southern Wild' Rips Through Sundance
2:43am EST
Benh Zeitlin's deranged and touching Delta drama drew the festival's most raucous fans -- and some buyers, too
'Celeste and Jesse' Could Stand Another Trip to the Editing Room
1:42am EST
Someone's going to buy it -- and that someone will quietly return the film to the editing bay to tighten up the film's whiny, sluggish second half and make it as smart and funny as the film's first half
Recount: Why There May Only Be 6 Best-Picture Nominees
20 Jan 2012
A new simulation shows how the Oscar system is totally dependent on first-place votes
Real Life Beavis and Butt-Head Will Haunt Your Dreams
20 Jan 2012
MTV's resident animated slackers get off of the couch -- and into your nightmares
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Support
Corrections
Advertise With Us
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.