Tigers Are Not Afraid is the story of children caught in a world of violence. In an unnamed Mexican city, Estrella (Paola Lara), a young girl, returns home to find her mother missing. She lives in a area infested with drug-related crime and it’s implied that her mother was one of many abducted by gangs for human trafficking. She soon encounters a group of boys close to her age and follows them. Their leader, Shine (Juan Ramón López), has stolen a valuable item and reluctantly lets Estrella join their party as they flee a local drug lord.
Director Issa Lopez doesn’t shy away from the violence of the setting and anyone is a potential victim. The film opens with children hiding under their desks as gunfire erupts outside and it becomes clear that this is a frequent occurence. As Estrella waits at home, alone without her mom, we see her neighbors pack up and leave. The city becomes an abandoned, graffiti-ridden wasteland ruled by crime lords with little sympathy for the victims, even children. Lopez maintains the danger throughout the runtime with frequent deaths and a feeling of hopelessness. It doesn’t appear anyone has the ability, and potentially even the desire, to help the kids get to safety.
The film falls into the category of magical realism. In the vein of Pan’s Labyrinth and last year’s Sicilian Ghost Story, it takes a horrific setting, cities ravaged by drug wars, and tells it from a child’s perspective. The boys, seeing the behavior of men and teenagers, try to act tough as their own gang. Shine repeats that Estrella isn’t strong enough to be with them, but it becomes immediately clear that he is only a boy with little real experience. The child’s viewpoint allows for small moments of joy in the difficult situation. Finding a soccer ball is enough cause to celebrate as the kids are able to momentarily forget about their situation. Despite their grim situation, they still have childish impulses.
Lopez uses elements of magical realism to guide the narrative and contextualize the events onscreen. Before any scene of violence, a trail of blood, moving in unnaturally perfect straight lines, enters the room. It’s a simple visual effect, but it carries a foreboding presence as it warns of what could possibly happen next. In the opening scene, Estrella is given three pieces of chalk by her teacher who tells her that each will grant her a wish. These wishes are then used as inflection points in the story. Each wish marks a major event that radically changes their journey. These wishes provide some solace to Estrella and give her young mind a way to understand the occurrences around her, but, for the audience, the wishes are moments of suspense where anything, good or bad, can happen.
Tigers Are Not Afraid becomes a visceral fairy tale. Its ending is a bit hokey, but the desperation the children feel is palpable and the way they make sense of the unjustifiable cruelty that surrounds them is authentic. Lopez shoots the horror of drug cartels through a child’s eye with a convincing vision of how young minds endure in a world without hope.
4/5 stars.