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@there_willbe_spoilers
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Tigers Are Not Afraid focuses almost entirely on the abandoned, forgotten Children that roam the streets in Mexico; their parents missing or removed by the violence of the Cartel.
It's a fantasy horror in the same vein as Guillermo Del Toro. It can feel like a melancholy and child-like fable but has a nasty and creepy edge to it. It never reaches the heights that Del Toro is able to climb (Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth are in a league of their own) but it is an admirable attempt that has some very effective moments.
This is a ghost story in many ways. One day Estrella's Mother leaves home and never returns. Estrella is lost; her Mother taken away without so much as a goodbye, this lack of closure a lingering entity throughout.
The spectre of violence then looms over our main character throughout in the form of a ghostly blood trail that follows her around.
Then, of course, there's the actual ghosts that haunt Estrella. The moments of horror throughout are very effective indeed, their interactions with Estrella similar to the ones in Pan's Labyrinth. This includes a moment towards the end (no spoilers) which would normally be a very tender, heart-wrenching moment of drama but doubles as one of the creepiest scenes in the whole film.
It's this combination of emotional drama, childish fable and creepy horror that make T.A.N.A special. With its brisk runtime and powerful ending, it left a mark on me that I was not expecting.
However it's not perfect. A lot of the thematic material here isn't really explored. The children engage in lots of pseudo-intellectual dialogue which comes across as a bit forced. Furthermore, there are streaks of humour here and there that feel completely out of place.
The film's more emotional and dramatic moments don't always land either... there are some pretty shocking scenes but I was never truly invested in the characters enough to be too affected.
That being said, it works more than it doesn't, and when it works it REALLY works. There are some very memorable moments here and overall it achieves the fantasy horror balance it opts for. You can watch it on shudder.
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