Vuelven AKA Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017) FotW #306

[Cocoa]

Film of the Week #306: Vuelven AKA Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017)



Summary:
A dark fairy tale about a gang of five children trying to survive the horrific violence of the cartels and the ghosts created every day by the drug war.

#654 on 1000<400, with 148 checks.
Nominated by 72allinncallme, sacmersault, and xianjiro.
On IMDb
On iCM

From the 1000<400 results

#654(NEW) Vuelven (2017)
[Tigers Are Not Afraid]

Directed by: Issa López
(218.79 Pts, 4 Votes) , Top 1–10–50: 0–1–1
History: 654←NA←NA←NA←NA←NA←NA

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ICheckMovies: 108 Checks , 11 Favourites , 0 Official lists

List of Voters:

John Milton (5)
filmbantha (62)
ChrisReynolds (64)
beavis (68)

This movie fits the current Unofficial Challenge.



Here is a schedule of all the FotWs.

[72aicm]

Watched it during the countdown. An instant favourite.
9/10.

I’m pretty sure this will be on the main list next year. Several people watched it during the horror challenge, it’s a FotW, it’s in the iCM Film Festival and I might pick it for the upcoming WC.

[Cinepolis]

Still waiting for it to be released anywhere.

[xianjiro]

Wow. Simply incredible. Magical realism meets tragic headlines as told through a child's fairy story. Moody, affecting, with a punch delivered by the least of all possible heroes. So very Mexican, such great cinema. My guess is some will have difficulty with the subject matter especially given the ages of the protagonists, but considering they are (were?) non-actors going into this production, clearly the director was able to pull a compelling story from them. 10 stars. Not sure what else to say.

[peeptoad]

I enjoyed this one 8/10
The kids were all great in it, particularly "El Shine". I also liked the supernatural elements and thought they were handled in an interesting manner, per the subject matter. I do agree with some that the story and film could have been more cohesive and structured better though.

[xianjiro]

I enjoyed this one 8/10
The kids were all great in it, particularly "El Shine". I also liked the supernatural elements and thought they were handled in an interesting manner, per the subject matter. I do agree with some that the story and film could have been more cohesive and structured better though.

Juan Ramón López won the 2018 Ariel for Breakthrough Actor (Mejor Revelación Masculina) for "El Shine"
- (source)

[peeptoad]

I enjoyed this one 8/10
The kids were all great in it, particularly "El Shine". I also liked the supernatural elements and thought they were handled in an interesting manner, per the subject matter. I do agree with some that the story and film could have been more cohesive and structured better though.

Juan Ramón López won the 2018 Ariel for Breakthrough Actor (Mejor Revelación Masculina) for "El Shine"
- (source)

Good to see he go some recognition and hopefully more to come in the future...

[filmbantha]

Vuelven was one of my favourite film's of Grimmfest last year (a UK horror film festival) so I'm pleased to see it pick up recognition on this forum and glad that everyone seems to be enjoying it. I am hopeful for its inclusion in the 500<400 list next year.

I would encourage all those who enjoy Vuelven to seek out Errementari and Tumbbad. Whilst both films are vastly different in terms of story, they also use striking cinematography to elevate their brand of dark fantasy/horror and feature strong child performances. Errementari is on netflix UK and Tumbbad is on Amazon Prime should anyone be interested. Both highly recommended.

[joachimt]

Bit late with this. Just finished it, but I'm not sure what I feel about the supernatural stuff. Sometimes I felt it added something extra to the drama. Sometimes it felt forced. 7/10 for now. Maybe I'll think about it some more.