The Children Are Always Ours
On Stolen Childhoods, Heartbreak, and Magical Realism
Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017) Dir. Issa López
In a city devastated by the Mexican drug war, leaving hundreds of orphaned children to fend for themselves, we are introduced to Estrella. An 11 year old who has lost her mum and is trying to fit in with a motley crew of kids with a vendetta against the drug cartels.
“We are princes, we are warriors, we are tigers.” - Estrella
Inspired by the stories of the orphan children of Juarez, writer/director Issa López took it upon herself to use genre and magical realism to portray a very real problem in Mexican border cities that have been ravaged by brutal drug wars. It’s a heartbreaking and beautiful piece of work that finds joy and enchantment in some of the bleakest corners of the unnamed city. Thanks mostly to incredible performances of characters who have yet to have their unending imaginations stripped away along with everything else.
While it’s arguable that all horror uses magical realism in some sense, I think it’s fair to say that the form is tied most strongly to Latin American literature and art. There is something very specifically “magical realist” about Tigers that you rarely see in more mainstream Euro-centric horror.
“I think that it's the perfect view to understand a broken universe. But also: I'm Mexican. I'm deeply Latin American. And the entire thing about Latin America is magical thinking, and witchcraft, and ghosts, and leading with our death. So it was just a matter of sitting down to write at the very beginning, and not trying to pull the story in that direction, but simply getting out of the way for the story to tell itself.” - Issa López
Early in the story, Estrella is given three pieces of chalk by a concerned teacher and told they represent three wishes. The film very deftly presents the results of Estrella’s wishes as darkly ironic “monkey’s paw” outcomes that could quite easily have happened without Estrella’s intervention. It’s a smart move. Always letting us live in the world of the children’s imaginations while never straying too far from the bracing truth.
That technique: to let the children’s sense of adventure and discovery imbue the film with a childlike momentum - only to shatter the illusion and bring the audience crashing back to reality in moments of genuine sorrow - is delicately and intelligently navigated.
The fairytale structure and use of vengeful ghosts gives us a sense of hope, or at least, some sort of cathartic justice. But this is very much a film that wants the audience to remain angry at the idea of stolen childhoods. It challenges the viewer to care about the innocent victims of any war - not just the drug war.
That feels particularly appropriate given the news this month.
“What is striking is: I set out to make a movie about a very peculiar, particular situation, which is what Mexico is going through right now. But I found that many of the themes that the movie touches upon, you can find them across the world. So for example, there is a gender violence happening in the movie, which is the origin of the story. In Canada, Native women are disappearing in big numbers; I think that I'm ashamed to say I didn't know. And then you play the movie in a city like Belfast, where they still have walls to divide one side from the other, and they understand bullets flying around town. It is not a good thing that the movie is understood deeply in so many places. It's actually worrisome.” - Issa López
I’ve seen this quote on social media a lot lately, and I think it’s worth sharing here:
“The children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe; and I am beginning to suspect that whoever is incapable of recognizing this may be incapable of morality.” - James Baldwin
Where can I watch it in the UK?
You can stream it for free on Shudder.
Pairs well with
The king of cinematic magical realism is Guillermo Del Toro, but one of his lesser well known entries is The Devil’s Backbone (2001, dir. Guillermo Del Toro, not currently available to stream anywhere in the UK but worth ordering a physical copy).
Set during the Spanish Civil War, it follows a child at a Republican orphanage that’s under attack (and possibly haunted by the ghosts of the past). Del Toro is always reliable, but this is one of my favourites of his and is arguably something of a prelude to Pan’s Labyrinth. Definitely worth investing in the Criterion Collection release.
Further Reading
- López in conversation with Del Toro.
- Another interesting interview with López on the process of making Tigers.
- Dragging Ghosts - an excellent piece about Tigers over at The Final Girls.
Other Recommendations
- If you’re in the UK, you can write to your MP or MSP to call for a ceasefire in Gaza by going here.
- Donate to Medical Aid for Palestinians here.
- The ICJP is an independent organisation of lawyers, academics and politicians working to promote Palestinian rights. They’re currently working to take UK politicians to court for endorsing war crimes. You can support them here.