Herod's Law
Herod's Law Image
Metascore
64 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.9 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 9 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
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  • Summary: This dark comic fable is a satire of the inevitability of political corruption in 1940's Mexico.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    90
    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.
  2. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Gregory Weinkauf
    80
    Smart, sassy and much more fun than most political diatribes.
  3. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: John Patterson
    80
    A bracingly sarcastic political comedy -- it opens on a bound copy of Mexico's Constitution, stuffed with cash -- possessed of a baleful satiric eye for hypocrisy and greed, a delicious anti-clerical bent, and pitch-perfect comic timing.
  4. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    50
    The film is bold and passionate, but not subtle, and that is its downfall.

See all 11 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. Tono111
    10
    Estrada manages to encapsulate in the life of a "God forgotten" town how political power works. Even better, the humor is extraordinary. It´s got all the usual irony and surrealism expected of politics and life in a small town. I really don´t understand the poor reviews from critics. It´s really not a "Third World" issue, it´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 didn´t get is a vehicle to portray abuse and corruption, which is done superbly. Worth mentioning is Damian Alcazar´s role as the main character, he is excellent (his dramatic roles are also impressive, for example in the Colombian movie Satanás).… Expand
  2. kentMOsabe
    10
    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 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

See all 5 User Reviews

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