Director: Teodora Mihai
Writer: Habacuc Antonio De Rosario, Teodora Mihai (Screenplay)
Starring: Arcelia Ramirez, Alvaro Guerrero, Jorge A Jimenez, Ayelen Muzo, Juan Daniel Garcia Trevino
Plot: Story of Cielo, a mother whose teenage daughter is kidnapped in Northern Mexico. When the authorities offer no support in the search, Cielo takes matters into her own hands and transforms from housewife into a vengeful militant.
Runtime: 2 Hours 20 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: La Civil starts when Cielo (Ramirez) learns her teenage daughter Laura has been taken by a Mexican gang, left with an expectation of money for her return, Cielo turns to her ex-husband Gustavo (Guerrero) to find the funds to get their daughter back.
When Cielo doesn’t get her daughter back, she turns to the authorities that offer her little help in her search, before joining a militant group, to hunt down the people she knows were involved to get to know the truth.
Thoughts on La Civil
Thoughts – La Civil is a crime thriller that will show how alone a parent can become when they are trying to get their kidnapped daughter back from a gang, after trying to find help, needing to solve the mystery herself. This will show the helplessness that Cielo is experiencing, without help within the neighbourhood, from the police and fear about the gangs. The drawn out story will show how she will need to make everything for the truth, with life isn’t even important without knowing the truth. Arcelia Ramirez is incredible in the leading role of the film, where we experience the pain, desperation and determination she is going through to make this happen. The sad thing about this story, is that we don’t get enough from seeing the people behind it, as every scene in the movie in only Cielo’s point of view, which does make sense, with the not knowing, but the people behind it, are going to be the people we need to see for the bigger picture.
Final Thoughts – La Civil is an intense thriller that shows how helplessness of a woman searching for their daughter.
