Wow!! Blows my mind. What a crazy roller coaster ride this poor innocent girl had to go through. To think this sort of thing still goes on.

This film gives you an idea as to what it is like living in a gangster controlled environment where corruption is rampant. Stephanie Sigman does a masterful job of portraying an innocent caught up in events beyond her control. At times she's like a deer in the headlights, frozen to the violence going on around her. Why is she going along with this? Is it fear, or perhaps symptoms of the Stockholm Syndrome? I'm reminded of the late Gilda Radner, who, in one of here characterizations on SNL, ended with "It just goes to show you, it's always something", and in this film it's one "something" after another. I think the moral of all this is... be careful what you wish for.

[ATTENTION: This review reveals content of the movie.]
The movie had ALL the elements to become a great class, but it was NOT touched by Soderberg (Traffic)! The sex scene between the leading lady and his drug master had no convincing reasons... But all over, the film is worth watching, better than many of the currently released movies from Hollywood!

This is done in the dramatic-realist style of so many recent foreign films, like City of God, Revanche and Sin Nombre. That style fits well with the setting of modern Mexico, because it leaves the viewer immersed in the violence and chaos that overwhelms the main character herself, and thereby makes her journey the audience's journey by proxy. The ups and downs of corruption, crime and gangs is presented in a realistic way as there are no real "bad guys" or "good guys". This is a fascinating slice of Mexican life during this time of near-civil-war in the countries history.

You often hear on the news about some of the horrific things that happen to some people in Mexico especially young females. The film illustrates the nightmares an individual had to go through to survive and protect their loved ones. It's a very gritty and harsh topic to see and yet it's very real in some parts of the world we live in.