Vuelven (Tigers Are Not Afraid). 2017. Mexico. Written and directed by Issa López. With Paola Lara, Juan Ramón López, Ianis Guerrero, Rodrigo Cortes, Hanssel Casillas, Nery Arrendondo and Tenoch Huerta. In Spanish; English subtitles. 83 min.
Issa López’s heartbreaking urban fairytale follows a group of orphaned children who live together on the streets of Mexico after their parents are killed by the drug cartel that runs the city. Our 11-year-old hero, Estrella, joins the gang after she realizes that her mother is never coming home. Luckily, she has recently been given three magical wishes after a tragedy at school that she uses to protect her new family and, ultimately, to seek retribution against those responsible for their pain. In the great tradition of Guillermo del Toro, this unrelenting, darkly violent ghost story, which uses magical realism to emphasize the struggles of these young victims of the ongoing Mexican drug wars, will haunt you forever.