Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Confusing, inconclusive docu has drugs, violence, language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
In Broad Daylight: The Narvarte Case
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
As IN BROAD DAYLIGHT: THE NARVARTE CASE begins, we learn that Mexican photojournalist Ruben Espinosa was a critic of the governor of the Mexican state of Veracruz. He believed that Governor Duarte was corrupt and his reporting, we're told, was a thorn in the governor's side. In 2015, Espinosa was tortured and murdered along with four other people in a Mexico City apartment. Among them was at least one known political activist. The authorities investigating the crime suggested that prostitution and drug dealing were at the root of the murders, trying to persuade the public that politics was not the issue and that the state wasn't involved in the killings. But the film points out that 12 outspoken journalists were killed during that time and many people "disappeared" or were intimidated by the authorities. Friends of Espinosa and the other victims, as well as outraged journalists, forensics specialists, and other researchers, banded together to demand fuller access to the state's forensics, phone records, and CCTV. They claim evidence was destroyed or withheld by the government that would point to a government role in the murders. To this day, the true events of that day remain murky.
Is It Any Good?
Unfortunately, although the intentions of In Broad Daylight: The Narvarte Case are noble, the execution is confusing, overlong, and inconclusive. The filmmakers often get lost in the weeds, to the degree that we can no longer follow what point they're trying to make. Is the evidence leading us to conclude that there was a political aspect to the crime, or were the victims actually caught in a drug or sex dispute? In short, much of this is either too long, too ponderous, or just incomprehensible. It takes a full hour to tell us that once researchers gained access to CCTV footage, the government theory on the killings unraveled. With regard to creating maximum suspense and comprehension, everything is told in the wrong order.
Additionally, a good documentary's biggest challenge is often how to create visual interest. Here we have long minutes of blurry photocopied documents dominating the visuals. The featured documents are barely legible. They're intercut with sometimes moving and sometimes dull talking heads and reenactments using both actors in a life-sized set and tiny dolls in a miniature version of the scene. It's clear the filmmakers worked hard on this, so it's unfortunate that the result isn't more engrossing.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the factors that make a good documentary. How well does this adhere to them?
Is it clear in this film who has been accused of covering up a crime and why they might have done so?
Does the movie pinpoint a villain? Do you know by the end who it is?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : December 8, 2022
- Director : Alberto Arnaut Estrada
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Documentary
- Run time : 108 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : December 30, 2022
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