The realism of a documentary. You're not sure if what you are seeing is a staged movie or hidden camera reality. Story based around a small working family's life in poverty Guanajuato Mexico as they are caught between drug cartels and various government enforcement agencies (some of which act in ways not too different from the cartels). Some people are beaten; some people are killed; a young girl is raped (not reenacted). On the negative side a couple of scenes seemed pointlessly out of place and didn't contribute to the story.

'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.

I really expect something else, I can't believe that the critics in Mexico believe and liked this movie, in Mexico during the 70's and 80's had the movies of "FICHERAS", now we have the movies of "NARCOS". Really we as country and as movie lovers don't deserve something better than a bad and boring copy of the same drama?!!? I really believe this movie doesn't deserve to represent Mexico at the Oscar. If this is the view that we expect the world have about Mexico it's really sad, I believe that we have more interesting movies, with soul, maybe someone called pink or a fantasy, but I live in Mexico and I never see or known that someone had a experience like this. This happens? of course, but why use violence in a movie, when all around the world are taking about the values. why Mr. Escalante didn't made a movie about a loving family, with problems and how close are we as Latinos, as Mexicans. Because always the violence, the bad and rotten aspects of the society sales better. Honestly, please avoid waste your time and your money!!!

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?