There was a small cry of anguish late last month when a movie from Mexico didn't make the short list for the Oscar's Foreign Language Film nominees. A beauty queen caught in a drug war sounds like an unlikely awards contender, but director Gerardo Naranjo has made a must-see film that provides a first-person perspective on the cycle of violence consuming our neighbour to the south.

Miss Bala is an excellent example of a film where you can tell a lot from the opening shot. We first meet Laura Guerrero, played by Stephanie Sigman, in her bedroom. As she hums a pop song to herself, her face is framed in the mirror by a collage of magazine idols. Laura helps her father sell clothes, but as soon as he leaves, she joins her friend Suzu to compete in the Miss Baja beauty contest. Listening to Laura and Suzu joking about the lecherous judges, they seem like typical young women, dreaming of a taste of fame, looking for a way to break out of their ordinary lives.

But when she meets her friend Suzu at a nightclub later that evening, Laura blunders into a gunfight between the police and the local drug runners. In the first of many static shots, Laura crouches in terror as she watches masked men drop in from the ceiling.

After turning to the authorities to find her now-missing friend, Laura finds herself held hostage by the stone-faced leader of the cartel, Lino Valdez. Laura is now little more than a pawn; a pretty plaything in the cartel's turf war between the police and American DEA.

Laura becomes a pawn in the drug business in Miss Bala. (Eniac Martinez/Mongrel Media)

Mexican model turned actress Sigman does a fine job playing the resourceful young woman who begins by trying to save her friend, then her family and finally, what remains of her dignity.

Naranjo trains our gaze, in a manner similar to director Steve McQueen. We see little of Laura's face, because Naranjo shoots many pivotal scenes from behind her back. We see only her back and long black hair, as in a first-person shooter video game. With her sobs for the soundtrack, we watch the drug runners operate with impunity, driving over traffic islands in their black SUVs, blocking streets during running battles with police.

In one particularly absurd moment that almost feels like something from the New Wave classic Weekend, the camera pans across a wide shot of the barrio. A house fire burns in the distance, lighting the night sky. As Laura runs along the dusty road, a wedding party races by, the laughing bride poking through the limo's sunroof. Just as the happy sounds fade, a caravan of cops pull up in their SUVs, throwing Laura to the ground. These long takes are more than cinematic stunts. They put us in the time and place. With no quick cuts, we're trapped just like Laura..

Director Naranjo says he was inspired by a real-life news story about a pageant queen who was arrested with member of the mob. Indeed, one of the most heartbreaking moments is when Laura gets her wish and participates in the Miss Baja contest.

Sigman captures an exquisite moment when Laura allows herself to surrender to this glittering fantasy. Slowly the shell-shocked woman musters a weak smile as the confetti rains down.

No doubt, Miss Bala (which means bullet) can be difficult to watch. Naranjo has stripped the glamour from the drug runners, forcing us to consider the effect on the civilians caught in the crossfire.

In the end Laura is left beaten and abandoned. We see her body deformed by a girdle of drug money. She's alone and doesn't know who to trust. Miss Bala is Mexico and this film is nothing less than a stunning indictment by a bold filmmaker.

RATING: 4.5 out of 5.

Miss Bala opens this weekend in Toronto and Montreal.