Herod's Law

Name: Herod's Law
Genre: Mystery, Comedy, Crime
Released: June 13, 2003
Duration: 120 min
Rating: 64

2003

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Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews

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Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Ratings

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7.7	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Venevision International | Release Date: June 13, 2003 | R

Summary: This dark comic fable is a satire of the inevitability of political corruption in 1940's Mexico.

Director: Luis Estrada

Genre(s): Mystery, Comedy, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 120 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Kenneth Turan

A bombshell in its home country, Herod's Law is made with the kind of flair that ensures a following everywhere politicians are venal and voters hope against hope for deliverance. Read full review

Wesley Morris

Incisive, highly entertaining political farce. Read full review

Leonardo Garcia Tsao

Provocative, well-shot and vastly entertaining in its malice. Read full review

Allison Benedikt

Estrada can be faulted for not fully developing these supporting characters, or for not weaving them seamlessly into his story. His eye all along is so clearly and surely on The Point that at times plot details and peripheral performances are washed over. Read full review

Ted Shen

Estrada references Welles throughout with his low-angle deep-focus shots, grotesque close-ups, and brassy sound track. The actors are uniformly excellent, embracing their arch roles without succumbing to caricature. Read full review

Roger Ebert

The film is bold and passionate, but not subtle, and that is its downfall. Read full review

Marrit Ingman

It’s too didactic to be a spaghetti Western but lacks the moral compass required of a more evolved philosophical statement. Read full review

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User Reviews

Tono111

Feb 5, 2011

Estrada manages to encapsulate in the life of a "God forgotten" town how political power works. Even better, the humor is extraordinary. ItÂ´s got all the usual irony and surrealism expected of politics and life in a small town. I really donÂ´t understand the poorEstrada manages to encapsulate in the life of a "God forgotten" town how political power works. Even better, the humor is extraordinary. ItÂ´s got all the usual irony and surrealism expected of politics and life in a small town. I really donÂ´t understand the poor reviews from critics. ItÂ´s really not a "Third World" issue, itÂ´s all about the transformation of an individual from nobody to a dictator as dictated by his context told in an allegorical way. The humor critics probably didnÂ´t get is a vehicle to portray abuse and corruption, which is done superbly. Worth mentioning is Damian AlcazarÂ´s role as the main character, he is excellent (his dramatic roles are also impressive, for example in the Colombian movie SatanÃ¡s).… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

DogeGamer2015

Jul 18, 2021

Es una excelente película mexicana; la trama es muy buena, la sátira política está bien hecha y actuación de Damián Alcázar es excelente; es muy recomendable.

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kentMOsabe

Jan 9, 2011

I would like to start my review with a couple of words of wisdom to all those "critics" that mis-reviewed this movie: please abstain from reviewing Mexican movies. I am sure you made a couple of bucks from the many corporations that probably paid you to make such statements, but give it aI would like to start my review with a couple of words of wisdom to all those "critics" that mis-reviewed this movie: please abstain from reviewing Mexican movies. I am sure you made a couple of bucks from the many corporations that probably paid you to make such statements, but give it a break, at least don't make it obvious that you were paid off by writing a couple of lazy lines with absolutely no proof whatsoever that you even actually watched the movie. Unfortunately for you, this was not meant to be a Hollywood blockbuster movie with CG graphical effects, heroes and happy endings. This is a film made in Mexico for Mexicans and if you do not understand the political, historical or social implications behind it, then this movie is probably not for you. Maybe you don't understand the Mexican brand of comedy, Maybe you don't get Mexican history or Politics, or maybe you watched a different movie from the one I watched...but keep in mind that no matter what you do to bring down this movie, everyone who has actually watched it probably did so because they are bored and tired of Hollywood and pointless American movies and they probably, for sure, don't feel the same way you do. It's time for you to understand that American movies and culture is not the only one that matters in the world. It's been 12 years since this movie came out at the turn of the century, but here I am reviewing it and it is now 2011, and many more Mexican films from the resurrected Mexican Cinema have come throughout this decade, many of which make Hollywood films look like lazy B movies. It is sad because out of all the American movies I have watched this decade, absolutely none even deserve to be reviewed at all; and yes that's how bad they are. I am baffled by the fact that nobody watches good movies like this one, and instead turn to the utter crap made by Hollywood.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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