HELI is a Mexican crime film marketed as a dark and disturbing thriller that reveals the terrible fall-out that follows on from an ordinary family falling foul of drug dealing gang members. What reviews also failed to mention is that it's rather dull and stodgy, for the most part.

The problem with HELI is the attempted worthiness; this was conceived as Oscar bait, so there's a level of stillness and artiness throughout. I don't mind arty films per se, but they have to be interesting enough to keep my attention, such as Andrzej Zulawski's POSSESSION. While HELI certainly has plenty of redeeming qualities, such as some quite stunning landscape cinematography, there just isn't enough story to sustain the running time.

The set-up of the film, introducing a poor family in rural Mexico, is okay as things go. Then things get very dark and harrowing with the crime story, including some unflinching torture sequences which offer the sort of stuff we've never seen before. It's truly shocking and easily the best part of the film.

And yet it seems to fizz out after that. The last act goes back to the sedate feel of the early scenes and it proves a real anticlimax compared to what's gone before. I understand the writer/director's intention is to depict the effect of trauma upon ordinary lives, but the characters just aren't interesting or likable enough that you care. HELI had plenty of potential, but that's the issue I had with it: I just didn't care a jot for any of those involved.

"Heli" was the official submission from Mexico for the 2014 Oscars for Best Foreign Language Picture, though it was not selected to be nominated. It also received the Best Director award at Cannes. And, it's finally coming out on DVD. But should you see it? Yes… and no. For the right persons, it might be worth seeing…though for most folks, I don't think so. This is because although the film has a very simple story and it's told with minimal emotion and very low energy…and punctuated, on occasion, with extreme violence….among the most extreme I have ever seen in a film.

Heli is a hardworking young man with a wife, a child, a sister and father living with him. He has a good job working at the local assembly plant and his life is pretty ordinary. Little did he realize that due to his very young sister's infatuation with a young thug, his entire family would be torn apart in the space of only a few hours. That's because his sister's boyfriend is an idiot…an idiot who stole a couple kilos of cocaine from a local gang and hid them at Heli's house! And soon, both the gang and some very corrupt cops arrive and decide to teach them all a lesson. What follows is a very vivid scene of extreme torture…so extreme I won't go any further. Suffice to say it is not for those with a weak stomach. What follows is how Heli deals with all of this.

The film is interesting because it shows the horrible side of Mexico we don't often see in films. Drug gangs are a scourge…encouraged by consumption of all these drugs north of the border. But in the film the federal police whose job it is to stop these gangs are often shown as being as violent and soulless as the gangs…and sometimes are in league with them. I applaud the movie for talking about this unholy alliance.

Unfortunately, the film also has quite a bit working against it….primarily, but not exclusively, vivid torture. Safe to say, most folks don't want to see that! Additionally, the minimalistic acting style is a problem. When folks aren't doing horrible things to each other, often the characters (Heli in particular) are almost zombie- like with their lack of emotion. There also are a few rough edits and the film has a look that is a bit rough as well.

Overall, it's a real mixed bag. I wanted to like the film much more than I did. Toning down the horrific violence would be a good start at making it a better movie. Sure, you need to know how vicious and awful the gangs and police can be…but you also don't want to see every excruciating detail.

'Heli' begins as a touch portrait of the life of a Mexican family; but turns into something darker when they fall into the path of a murderous gang of drug dealers. The film's third section charts what happens afterwards, and is arguably the least satisfactory portion of the movie: it's not that the film is unconvincing, but it's unclear what is added beyond what one might have expected. The ambiguous mood of the ending is arguably a sign of failure rather than success: of a film uncertain of its own point. What is good, on the other hand, is the warm and naturalistic acting, and a believable portrait of everyday dreams and their ending.