Narco Cultura
Directed by Shaul Schwarz
To a growing number of Mexicans and Latinos in the Americas, narco-traffickers have become iconic outlaws and the new models of fame and success. They represent a pathway out of the ghetto, nurturing a new American dream fueled by the war on drugs. Narco Cultura looks at this explosive phenomenon from within, exposing cycles of addiction to money, drugs, and violence that are rapidly gaining strength on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border
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Reviews
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★★★★ review by Shawn Palmquist on Letterboxd
Narco Cultura is a documentary film about the horrifying reality that is Mexico right now. It switches between following a CSI investigator in Juarez and the horrific things he deals with every day...and contrasts this with a new genre of music called 'Narcocorrido' which glorifies the Narco culture of violence, drugs, and money.
This is easily one of the most important and 'must see' documentaries of the last couple of years. No matter how much you've heard about the Mexican drug wars, this documentary will paint a picture on it that you won't soon forget. It's absolutely haunting...no joke, this doc is a straight up horror movie in it's terrifying depiction of a nation and indeed a culture in crisis. Bleak to the bone, but absolutely fascinating.
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★★★★ review by Kabir Omerovic on Letterboxd
A portrait of hell on earth, also known as Juarez, Mexico. This is the scariest film I have seen in a long time. Forget about jump scares and creatures in the dark, this film lets you take a peak at the mutation of the ultimate deadly capitalism in the form of the cartel. Which is a villainous entity that we don't have to even see. Them loom over everything that happens. Ridley Scott used the same idea in The Counselor. (Which would make for a great double feature).
The film follows two men, a police officer and a musician. The first one gives us an account of the mordent reality of being a citizen in Juarez. The other is the musician, who writes songs that celebrate the people who do all the killings. Music that the general public celebrates. That even America celebrates, as it sells out at Wallmart.
The most baffling scene is when the police officer is at a party where they are playing this mordent music, and he himself seems to hums to the song. -
★★★½ review by Anny on Letterboxd
It's a horror film.
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★★★★ review by Rami Raff on Letterboxd
I'm really impressed by the balance of this film. It deftly shows the fascinating myth-making and sub-cultures that spring up around the drug trade but NEVER forgets the terrible human cost of a war that can never truly be won.
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★★★★★ review by Robb Rauen on Letterboxd
Absolutely fantastic documentary. I personally think every person in both countries should be "required" to see this...so they have an understanding of the realties in play and their impacts on the countries, the societies and real peoples' every day lives.
It's a perfect blend of the current, horrible violence that continues in Ciudad Juarez...its glamorization on both sides of the border...and the lives of the individuals that are touched by it, whether in their attempts to curb it, their attempts to turn it into entertainment...or purely their attempt to survive while surrounded on all sides by it.
Definitely see this in the theater while you can!
Below are the limited cities it's playing in currently (as of Dec 8th, 2013). I don't know if it will open up any wider.
AZ
Avondale, AZ - Harkins Gateway Pavilions 18
Phoenix, AZ - Cine De Phoenix
Phoenix, AZ - Harkins Christown 14
Tempe, AZ - Harkins Arizona Mills 25
Tucson, AZ - Harkins Tucson Spectrum 18
Tucson, AZ - The Loft
Yuma, AZ - Harkins Yuma Palms 14CA
Bakersfield, CA - Valley Plaza
Commerce, CA - Regency Commerce 14
Fresno, CA - Regal Manchester Mall 16
Long Beach, CA - Long Beach Stadium 26
Los Angeles, CA - Laemmle Royal
Los Angeles, CA - Regal LA Live
Moreno Valley, CA - Harkins Moreno Valley 16
Ontario, CA - AMC Ontario Mills 30
Ontario, CA - Regal Ontario Palace 22
Orange, CA - AMC Block 30 @ Orange
Paramount, CA - Bianchi Theatres
Pasadena, CA - Laemmle Pasadena Playhouse
Pico Rivera, CA - Krikorian Village Walk
Redondo Beach, CA - AMC Southbay Galleria 16
Sacramento, CA - Natomas Marketplace
San Diego, CA - AMC Palm Promenade 24
South Gate, CA - Regal South Gate Stadium
Stockton, CA - Regal City Center 16
Union City, CA - Cinemark Union City 25
Van Nuys, CA - Regency The Plant
Winnetka, CA - Pacific Winnetka Stadium 21CO
Aurora, CO - Cine De AuroraDC
Washington DC - West EndIL
Chicago, IL - Regal City North
Cicero, IL - AMC Showplace 14NY
New York, NY - Cinema Village
Oklahoma City, OK - Harkins Bricktown 16TN
Nashville, TN - BelcourtTX
Brownsville, TX - Cinemark 16
Dallas, TX - Cinemark 17
El Paso, TX - Cinemark Cielo Vista Mall
El Paso, TX - Cinemark Tinseltown 20
Fort Worth, TX - Cine De Fort Worth
Houston, TX - AMC Studio 30
Houston, TX - Cinemark Tinseltown 290
Mission, TX - Cinemark Tinseltown 17
Pasadena, TX - Cine De Pasadena
Pflugerville, TX - Cinemark Tinseltown 20
Plano, TX - Cinemark West Plano 20 - See all reviews