Narco Cultura [Blu-ray]

If you ever wanted to have an inside look as to why people leave their countries. Narco Cultura is a good start in the multitude of reasons why people flee to America. Notice I said, "flee" not "flock" for there is a difference.Narco Cultura is a documentary that shows you the brutal life the people of Juárez suffer through on a daily basis. It gives you just a small, brutal taste as to why you see so many illegal immigrants in America. It shows you that most of the hispanic people from Central America actually have no interest to move to America.As one of the main characters in this movie tells you. "When I'm in Mexico, I feel more comfortable, more at peace, more like myself. I can speak my language, go wherever I please, and not worry that I'm breaking some laws." This isn't an exact quote, but the gist is obviously that he never wants to leave his home country.However, the gang violence and the atrocities committed by the drug cartels are extinguishing him and his colleagues one by one. To make matters worse, the Mexican people have started to idolize these drug dealers who carry assault rifles and "stick it to the man."There is a lot of death in this movie, a lot of real life death with gruesome depictions of dead bodies, burnt corpses, and a mother screaming over the death of her decapitated son.Yes. Decapitated.You'll also get to see in this film, the other side of the fence. You'll see a Mexican-American trying to make it big as a Narco Cultura singer. Let me just tell you that right off the bat, you're not going to like this guy. He idolizes the violence and is just a punk kid who doesn't know any better. He's a part of the group that's creating this "Narco Cultura" where they want Mexicans to love the music about drug dealers killing the cops and shooting people with AK-47's.What he stands for is despicable and this movie is certainly sad to watch, yet morbidly fascinating. The pacing is good, the cinematography is excellent, the content is gripping, and you may feel your world unexpectedly expanded after watching this.I highly recommend this movie if you can stomach the violence and depression it may inflict upon you.

As a Mexican American this documentary made me cry. The good people have to live with evil people that are above the law. 97 percent of the murders (and their is a lot of them) go unsolved, actually ignored. The documentary shows the life of a crime investigator who is a nervous wreck that his job will get him killed one day, but as he says it is his career and their is no other jobs. The cartels have extorted all the business's in the city so most close down. Then their is the song writer with his narco corridos glorifying the drug cartel life. Some of the people enjoy the music as if the narcos are modern day Robin Hoods. In others their is a look of despair in their faces and voices and cries throughout the movie. As if they are asking "What happened to Mexico? What happened to our home?" Maybe another civil war is in order, sad to say.

The bullet collectors are forensic teams whose data goes nowhere since 97% of Juarez' 3,000+ annual murders will never be solved. Before we shame narco groupies and singers and hangers'-on, we must first examine our own glorification of, defense of and entertainment by powerful crime figures like John Gotti, John Dillinger, Jesse James, gangsta rappers; the list goes on and on and on.Though women are murdered in cartel wars, one aspect not addressed are the fact that it's mostly men murdering men. When thousands of men are murdered in a single city every year, surely the impact on surviving women, children, society and the economy is devastating. It's rather like a male genocide that will take generations to recover and restore gender and family balance.As far as narco-corridos music itself, what we're shown has no bass, no funk and all is umbilically attached to a 3/3-timed oom-pa-pa, oom-pa-pa beat. Accordions can be made get down and get funky, but until that happens in this genre, it simply cannot go mainstream in America. The lyrics about murder, guns and dope are not much different than American rap top-40 hits. The singers imitate the gestures they see in American rap vidoes, but appear absurdly out of place with a polka beat.Narco Cultura shows us narco cops, narco groupies, narco entertainers, narco workers and of course narco victims. One particular mother, instead of sobbing in a crumpled heap, screams with rage to the world the question of why Mexico is resigned to helplessness and fear and doing nothing. One of the most powerful scenes is Juarez' City of the Dead; a cemetery bizarrely lavish with multi-story mansions for the dead as far as the eye can see.Powerful film.

Originally found it on Netflix.. didn't think much about it and just clicked it to spend time and I gotta say.. it's one of the real gems. added to collection. Compelling narrative follows two separate individuals and through them we get a glimpse of stark reality how drug and its business is affecting the lives.. one who glamourize and another whose sense of duty guides him to do the right but has to perform duties in fear..I'd say it's totally worth it to google the directoor 'Shaul Schwarz' and check out his photography and short film works on his website. Amazing works.

Excellent documentary it gives both sides of the story. Very detailed yet entertaining.

Not bad I guess. But where could you possibly be living where you didn't know this existed? I was hoping for more... More understanding more in depth. It was shallow.and paint by numbers. I could not wait for it to be over. Who was the pretty dead girl in the opening scene? I honestly didn't care about a single person. I felt for the bullet collectors, I guess. What about all the crusaders that have been killed? What about border crossing and killings in America?

Covers nearly aspect of the unique world that is narco-terrorism and narco-music.Just don't use it as a guidebook for a lifestyle.Terrible lifestyle.

Very interesting documentary.