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Review: ‘Mexico’s Bravest Man’ or not? This documentary makes it hard to tell.

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As its name suggests, the documentary “Mexico’s Bravest Man” comes down on the side of its title character, Julian Leyzaola, the controversial former police chief of both Tijuana and Juárez. Still, director Charlie Minn wisely offers opinions and testimony from several naysayers to provide some balance. But is it enough?

Even after watching this provocative, fast-paced portrait, I found it hard to truly ascertain where Leyzaola fell on the good cop-bad cop spectrum. What is conclusive is that homicides dropped dramatically during his tenure in both crime-riddled cities, even if the law enforcer, as critics here note, may have taken a by-any-means-necessary approach. (Leyzaola essentially denies claims of human rights abuse, torture and murder.)

Leyzaola is perhaps most notable, however, for surviving seven assassination attempts, the last of which left him with a paralyzing spinal injury. Minn’s in-depth interview with the wheelchair-bound Leyzaola provides a kind of running commentary, interspersed with vivid archival news clips, police-action footage and security surveillance video related to local gang and drug cartel mayhem and other crime. There’s also an unnerving reenactment of last year’s final attack on Leyzaola.

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Minn’s homegrown filmmaking style creates an absorbing intimacy and urgency. But placing Leyzaola’s story within a broader national, even international context may have helped further illuminate Mexico’s complex, at times contradictory system of crime and punishment.

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“Mexico’s Bravest Man.”

No rating.

Running time: 1 hour, 25 minutes. In Spanish and English with English and Spanish subtitles.

Playing: Cinépolis Pico Rivera.

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