 Thanks for checking out this no spoilers movie review. This is for Tigers are not afraid It is a shutter exclusive and is a 2017 film, but obviously it's just gotten its release in the United States As a shutter exclusive. So when I say no spoilers for these reviews I mean no spoilers as in I'm not gonna tell you what's happening in the film like the actual events or anything But there is like thematic spoilers that I'll talk about and say oh, I believe there's a metaphor of this But I won't tell you specifically what it is in the film. So just know that going into this now This is a film that's actually garnered a lot of praise And so there's been a lot of hype around it as it's been about to hit shutter and it just hit shutter when I'm Reviewing this in like less than a week ago. It was like on Thursday of this week. So It's been a lot of hype about it seen a lot of people watching it one of the big reasons for the hype is that it got a lot of Attention from people like Stephen King Guillermo del Toro who are obviously very highly respected within the horror community So whenever they're saying things about a film people are like boom got to see it makes a lot of sense So I get it. I was very excited for this film and I will say off the bat I'm not gonna tell you my star rating yet do that at the end. I did like it It is a good film, but I will also say that it seems less horror than I thought it was going to be a Lot of people kind of bill it as oh, it's like a fairytale horror film that's tied into real life I think it fits more into the drama genre with the way it's done And it actually feels a little bit to me like people have kind of compared it to Guillermo del Toro's like Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth now I think it is kind of like Devil's Backbone, but I think it's Kind of opposite of Pan's Labyrinth where Pan's Labyrinth is kind of very heavy on the horror and fairytale combined and that's kind of like the main portion of the movie and then kind of the real-life stuff You you need to figure out the tie-ins Between the two that way and it's more of like like I'm saying if it makes sense like the substance is the horror fairytale and then the the real-life tie-ins are kind of More fleeting I won't say fleeting, but they're less substantial And you just kind of need to figure out how you tie that into the horror fairytale Whereas tigers are not afraid is more it's more of the real life and real life horror the horror of real life but the fairytale horror portion is Significantly less and you need to figure out how that little portion ties into the real life horror So for that reason I kind of feel like it fits more into the drama genre, but there surely are Well, there definitely are like horror aspects to the film and there's also like fantasy aspects to the film So but to me it didn't feel like Much horror as in what you think of with horror genre It was more like I was saying real life horror the horrors of being alive in a terrible Situation as a kid which makes it even tougher So that's the other thing if you if you're watching this review and you haven't seen the movie yet I would recommend Well, I would just let you know because I don't know what your preference is that It deals with kids in terrible situations a lot So if that's something that's a very touchy Subject for you, maybe you shouldn't see the film, but I personally think that Kind of everyone should see this film because it has some very important themes and topics that come up That I think everyone should kind of be confronted with in a way So it's an important film for that reason, I think so this this is written and directed by Issa Lopez Now Issa Lopez is pretty well known filmmaking wise in Mexico apparently Because she's won a bunch of literary awards. She's had a lot of success with the movie She's made down there as well as TV shows that she's been involved with so Already well known in Mexico not super well known in the United States So maybe with Tigers are afraid coming to the US that'll kind of change that so we'll see Okay So this I might I'm probably gonna read some of the stuff I put in my notes verbatim because I was really Formulating intentionally how I was writing these things So this film is to make people think about the impact of adult-created violence in a child's environment and what that does to them So this isn't really a spoiler because it's in the synopsis of the film before you would see it Kind of like the log line and everything it's set in Mexico against the backdrop of a society involved in drug cartel So so it's it's some real-life stuff that actually does go on. I mean, it's it's a fictional story About kids. It's not like based on real life But the situation of the drug cartel violence in cities in Mexico is real So it's taking something real life and putting a fictionalized story into it But there's a lot of I guarantee there's a lot of truth in it as well though and it kind of hits on something that a lot of people don't think about which is Children's a child's role in this which is a forced role in all of this where you know There's a lot of violence going on around them. They haven't chosen this. They're put into this environment You know adults are killing each other adults are end up killing kids There's a lot of death and a lot of terribleness all around them and it's about them trying to survive really and Yeah, I'll kind of talk more about that with the things I've written in here So it covers children who are left with nobody and fend for themselves and those and a few In the beginning you kind of well, I'm not gonna say that because it's a little spoilery But it's basically about kids who are left to fend for themselves now This is something that's it's been talked about a little bit and not so much in the context of Mexico and the drug cartels But more in the context of over the years Brazil like a large amount of homeless children in Brazil so This is kind of different in the sense that it's bringing this up in Mexico and saying look You know this drug violence these cartels It's it's leaving these kids behind and it's not just leaving these kids behind So they have to fend for themselves But it's also putting them in just a horrible situation like even if they have families and adults to kind of protect them They they're still in a really awful situation where they're faced with these terrible real violent awful Events that happen in their lives and they try and process that Which you know that changes a person it causes childhood trauma and that doesn't allow a kid to grow up Exactly the way they should be able to grow up which is protected and able to be kind of like carefree and be a kid like have a fun Carefree upbringing a good environment and This kind of speaks like in this film to the issue of adult society letting children down You know adult society has been has become so focused on Greed and revenge especially in this story that they could care less about the future Which is you know a younger generation they could care less about What they should be doing which is protecting these children who they're bringing into the world They should be giving them the best opportunity they can and they're not doing that at all because they're more focused on making money and being powerful and getting revenge on people and children become They get stuck in the in in the in the middle and they get I mean they basically get stuck in the crossfire you know realistically actually being killed and You know mentally being scarred by everything so I and this is why I'm saying that I was saying that I think it's an important film and I really think everyone should see it because it makes these Things a reality and a lot of people don't think about it and you should think about it You should be very cognizant of these things You watch from okay, so I wrote this from my perspective I'm saying if you watch it from my perspective and and see the trauma and fear of violence weaving itself Into the being of who these children are and keeping them from experiencing carefree innocence, which all children deserve deserve and that's the thing like when I was watching this film like you could see the events of it and its immediate impact on these kids and their psyches and To me I could just see like like I wrote like the weaving of these horrible things into the personalities of the kids and it messes them up obviously and it will mess them up for the future and it kind of makes me think that you know, you're starting from a base of Terrible with that generation then with all those kids exposed to what's going on in this film, so It can I can't I'm not gonna say it can only get worse But it increases the chance that things are gonna get worse because their perspective of what the world is Versus what the world should be is very very different. It's more harsh So there's more of a chance for when that generation gets older for things just getting worse than that Because they are already at their baseline. They think well things are terrible instead of having a more Idealistic view of things so I thought that was important to point out Speaks to a society focused so much on greed and revenge that it stopped caring about its kids in future Yeah, I was that's what I already said that but that all but that also made me think about It's not just in these violent situations like if you think about what's going on in the United States Corporations and the amount of focus on money and the allocation of how money is and it's all about money at the top and Forget everyone below that because you know, let's be honest corporations. I'm sorry. It's a little political ish But it's actually the real I Mean, it's a real situation like this is what's happening Corporations at the top, you know, they have all the money so they basically control the politicians because where does the money for? campaigning come from and How they make real money from corporations so who have all the money and there's just been a focus of Flowing even more money upward. So with that happening, you're making sure that children Don't have the opportunity to have the upbringings that they should where You know in a situation where wealth is significantly more evenly distributed So that's just my opinion. I'm not trying to tell everyone how to think So my apologies if you view this as just like a ridiculous political whatever But I just saw that tie in between what's going on there and what's going on in the United States from an economic standpoint So it's like physical violence in one economic violence in a sense in another and it's kind of leaving a lot of children behind especially lower income Because like I like I'm saying like in this movie like they don't choose what environment they're brought into But then it also kind of makes me think of you know The impact of of a bad environment on children with a broken home, you know, and that happens everywhere in the world, you know a Two spouses who can't get along Who involve the kids throw them in the middle of things when they actually should just you know Take care of everything in private and leave the kids totally out of it You know when they allow them to be put in the middle or they intentionally put them in the middle It causes not exactly the same but a a sort of kind of similar trauma where it really messes up the kids perspective and baseline personality of what What society is what the world is and how they are? If you don't protect your younger generations from the ills of society the decline will only get worse when they grow up That was the thing I was talking about earlier where I was like I don't know if this is a hundred percent, but it's just a thought I had that's just a theory that it could cause that So forced to grow up the kids in this film create their own family unit including taking care of each other and giving adult advice Like eat your peas. That's one of the really interesting things about this is that you see that when these kids have Nobody but each other they kind of start to create their own family unit naturally It's like okay, you know, we're we have to take care of each other So they just fall into these roles of like, you know, we're the older kids We'll take care of the younger kids and there's a really important moment It's not really a spoiler where it's kind of like eat your peas Because those are your vegetables like that's a very very grown-up thing that kids would never ever focus on as actual Kids like coming up in a carefree, you know, nice environment so it really it's a small thing and it seems kind of trivial, but it really does drive that point home of These kids are not living as kids. They're forced to be more adult than they should The fairy tale aspect is used to show Show child coping that distanced them from the reality of their actual world So it's like like placing a filter on the world so they can more easily digest the horrors Yeah, that's like the fairy tale aspect even though it like I was saying it's not super prominent in this It's used here and there and it shows It's like a barrier that the kids use To filter their experiences through to kind of try and soften it for their child minds to kind of Preserve themselves in a sense. It's self-preservation really so that they're not 100% Exposed feel 100% exposed to the violence and the terrors of what's actually going on And I think it's effectively done in the film There are a few metaphors for the kids as tigers so tying into the title of tigers are not afraid so Being taken from their families and caged much like an actual tiger who is you know in captivity But also resilient and ferocious in the face of captivity as the kids themselves are captives of the violent society That they have not chosen to be in much like when tigers are taken from their normal environments where kids normal environment should be like I'm saying carefree and very kidlike and then placed in a cage These kids are placed in the cage are placed in the society. They didn't want to be a part of that has Definitely caged them took has taken all their opportunities away basically and they have to figure out a new way to live just like tigers But they also You know Get this resilience like the cage tigers do as well like they they figure out a life based on that It's not ideal, but it is what it is basically It's a powerful film that has a lot to say and it does it well I think it's a pretty succinct easy thing to say you can probably tell that I was gonna say something like that because I Kind of already have said something like that when I was Saying that everyone should really see this. It's very important. So it is powerful film. It's well-written So it's I already talked about it being more real life horror and more drama It's and it's the opposite of pans labyrinth or you talked about that So let me go more to that that's kind of all I have to say about like the story and Thematic things and stuff like that. So let me go a little bit more to the technical type things with the actual film The animations I think are really cool in this and they play well and they add to the fairy tale portion of the film Which like I said is pretty small, but it's there And it helps the animation to actually help to show a child perspective and the animations are tied into Graffiti, which I think looks really good So the design of it is really smart in the sense that it looks good But it's also very childlike which is important for its tie-in with the film to actually like feel like it works The CG in this the computer graphics actually look pretty good. I was very happy with it and I think part of what helps it is that I don't think this film was shot in high definition That or the lighting is so is so off throughout the whole thing not in a bad way Like it's intentionally like that to kind of be more gritty and and muted and and depressing to be honest So I think that the that helps the CG because when you have something in high definition So so say you have like a like something CG in high definition, and it's in broad daylight It's gonna be very easy for people to see the issues with the CG and and that it doesn't really look like it fits In that instance because everything looks so crisp so I think how the film is done the CG looks good and then How with how everything else is with the environment and the lighting and I don't think being done in high definition Helps with blending the CG in so looks good The camera work is really shaky throughout this not always There are actually a few moments where you could tell they were like using a tripod or something to You know keep it steady and I think those are the moments that they were intentionally trying to make more cinematic So it makes sense to me the difference between when they're using something like a tripod versus when they're doing the shaky The shaky cam and someone just you know has it on their shoulder most likely But for me personally it bothers me a bit when there's so much of the camera moving and being shaky I understand that it kind of adds more to like a realistic feel like you're looking with your eyes And walking and you know moving with the characters and stuff like that But at the same time like I'm watching a movie and I'd rather see it in a more cinematic way because it also has a tendency to make me a little nauseous at times I Don't know if other people experience that or not Great location use in this film Because it plays right into the feel the feel of the movie and the story They did an excellent excellent job scouting locations and and deciding on which ones they were gonna use because it looks good It looks bleak. It looks dirty. It is very appropriate for the feel the story in the story itself I mean it works great And that's one of the big things that stood out to me as a strength for making this film work in addition to you know the writing being good and The last thing I have to say about it is the kids in this film did a really good job for the roles they had to fill they did a good job casting it and Really good job kids. It is hard. I imagine to find Children who can do a really good job acting So super awesome. So all that said that's my review on Tigers are not afraid. I enjoyed it It's not a perfect film I think is one of those situations where like I got really hyped up for it because everyone's like, oh my gosh Oh my gosh, Tigers are not afraid. It's coming and Stephen King said this and Guillermo del Toro said this So I was like, oh man, this is it's gonna be amazing So when you go into movies like that, you're always gonna experience a level of disappointment Because it's never ever gonna live up to the hype But that said you got a you know when you're watching the film You have to try and step back from that and I did I did try to do that So I think I on a my five-star scale with half stars in play I'm gonna give it a four-star rating. This is a good film. This is not not not a perfect film But it is quite good and I think it is quite important. So I'm going four stars on it Now everyone out there if you've seen it go ahead and put some comments down there What are your feelings on it? What are your feelings on my review of it? 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