Drug Lord: The Legend of Shorty

2014
6.2| 1h30m| en
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The Legend of Shorty is the story of a man and a myth

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Film4 Productions

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Reviews

Interesteg What makes it different from others?
SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.
Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%
Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.
Guy THE LEGEND OF SHORTY is a documentary which sees two journalists, one British and the other Peruvian, go hunting for "El Chapo" (or "Shorty") Guzman, the head of the Sinaloa Cartel. They lay out his rise from foot-soldier to the leader of the largest of the Mexican drug cartels, which is interesting if familiar to anyone who knows anything about the subject. Then they try to find the man - who was supposed to be the most wanted man in Mexico - who the government couldn't find. They don't meet him but they do manage to get to his ranch, meet his grandmother and hang out with his bodyguards. It seems likely that he's around, but unwilling to appear on camera. This is the most compelling part of the film, in part because of how uncinematic the life of the cartel guys is: they pretty much hang around in the boondocks drinking beer and killing cows to make steaks. The relative ease with which the journnalists find him shows what most people in Mexico already knew; that there is collusion between the cartels and the government (recently Shorty was captured, without a fight; like his earlier prison time, it's almost certainly all arranged before hand). Unfortunately this means that there isn't much for the journalists to do, so to bulk out their film to a feature-length of 90 minutes they play a lot of songs in full, which are mildly interesting but really slow it down. It probably would have been better as an hour of television.
Joe Okay with such a title of a documentary, there are tons of puns galore you can come up with on this one, but the subject matter is no laughing matter.We have two journalists/documentary makers out to try to find the elusive Mexican drug lord El Chapo ('Shorty') who is currently the world's most notorious drugs crime lord. Going and escaping from wherever they can, our leads interview just anyone who is brave enough to talk. Quite often you will feel very disturbed by some of the replies from a selection of those interviewed.This is a graphic and honest documentary, and the question is just what will he be like when or if the documentary do find him? That's the mystery.It's nothing special in it making, and really we are watching our leads on a wild goose chase.It's interesting and unsettling, worth a viewing but you'll get little out of it.
Leofwine_draca A compelling, quest-based documentary that sees a pair of film-makers (one British, one Peruvian) travel to the USA and Mexico in the hunt for a notorious Mexican drug lord nicknamed 'Shorty'. This has much in common with the kinds of globe-trotting documentaries that Ross Kemp regularly makes for Sky these days, with the unwelcome addition of a number of musical interludes (I could have done without all the music, which is why this gets a lower rating than I'd have liked to give it).The narrative is focused and wide-ranging, exploring all of the different facets of the drug dealer's life and career, and you get a thorough overview of the whole situation. Camera-work and dialogue are fine. The film-makers manage to get themselves into a couple of dangerous situations, which makes for all the more compelling viewing, and there's some graphic footage of the ultimate consequences of the drug-dealing business that wouldn't be out of place in the likes of FACES OF DEATH, so be warned.
paul2001sw-1 The drugs business is a multi-million pound industry, and the head of the Sinaloa cartel, known as 'El Chapo', or 'Shorty' in English, was a semi-public figure. So how come he lived so long without arrest? He was finally captured earlier this year, but it seems that the authorities were complicit in his freedom, perhaps because it's easier to have a Mr. Big (or Mr. Small?) controlling a cartel than to cut off the head and look at what's inside. In 'The Legend of Shorty' two film-makers, who have an established interest in the subject, attempt what the U.S. and Mexican governments apparently could not do, and track down the man in person. Their quest illustrates the sad state of contemporary Mexico, and the damage that the cartels, and the war on drugs, have done to the country. It's a revealing portrait, enlivened by some brilliant Tex-Mex songs about El Chapo and the life in his gangs, but fundamentally depressing. Something is rotten in the state of Mexico; and it's hard to believe that Shorty's eventual arrest will actually change that much.