Movie Review: ‘Murder Capital of the World,’ a Look at Ciudad Juárez
Charlie Minn's documentary "Murder Capital of the World" is a briskly paced, pessimistic examination of the drug war that has ravaged Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, since 2008. The statistics speak for themselves. The number of manslaughters in this border city of over one million residents skyrocketed from 44 in 1990 to more than 3,000 in 2010, according to the film.
The total dipped a little in 2011 after the arrival of a tough new police chief, Julian Leyzaola, whose military tactics have made some headway, but his critics assert that he ignores human rights and uses torture to extract confessions. The crime wave is still so overwhelming that 95 percent of the manslaughters in Juárez are not investigated.
Heartbreaking stories of families who have lost loved ones alternate with the voices of experts from academia, law enforcement and politics who give their views on the causes of the crisis. All seem to agree that widespread poverty and a lack of opportunity are at the root of it. A counterculture that glorifies gang leaders as role models has grown, even though a job working for a cartel is probably a death sentence.
As Charles Bowden, the author of "Murder City: Ciudad Juárez and the Global Economy's New Killing Fields" and the most outspoken commentator, observes bitterly, "The poor bastards are being ground up by a society that doesn't care about them since the day they were born." Kidnappings, rampant extortion and drug-related manslaughters have driven many small business out of the city.
Because much of the heavy weaponry wielded by the cartels comes from the United States, which is a major destination of the drugs passing through Juárez, American policy is sharply criticized.
Besides Mr. Bowden, who shares a despairing cynicism about Mexico's future, the most outraged individual in the film is the Mexican poet Javier Sicilia, whose son was killed by drug traffickers. He is heard challenging President Felipe Calderón of Mexico to redirect his resources from fighting the cartels to strengthening the country's youth and social services programs.
Murder Capital of the World
Opens on Friday in New York and Los Angeles.
Produced and directed by Charlie Minn; edited by Yota Matsuo and Aaron Michael Thomas; music by Kyle Hildenbrand; designed by Sal Lomedico. In Manhattan at the AMC Empire 25, 234 West 42nd Street. Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes. This film is not rated.
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