What was set up to be a provocative look into Mexico's staggering levels of political and police corruption falls completely flat from third-rate performances, scriptwriting, production, and direction. It is a shame that a project with such noble intent on producing an eye-opening view into being stuck in the midst of this bureaucratic nightmare that is Mexican justice still cannot provide any believability in a dull, flat pulse that mires every scene in boredom. With the largely amateur cast, c-movie technical standards, and monotonous camera-work, Rabbit on the Moon's potentially engaging plot line is rendered limp, even unwatchable, in the important social context it is served. Moderately successful in it's home country, I cannot imagine the movie appealing to anyone else besides the precise demographic it caters to simply due to budget constraints.

This is probably the first Mexican urban thriller that doesn't fall into goofyness or folkloric gags to keep the audience in. The director doesn't go for joking himself out of horrible situations, they stand as serious as a political execution. Its a hard movie, with a terrible subject and a wonderful realization. OK, its portrait of Mexico fits more a decade ago, but that's not a problem in a narrative full of corruption, souless souls, great dialogues, creepy characters and horrible situations. The political game hasn't been shown as fully since the wonderful HEROD'S LAW. One of the movie's asset is the way the narrative focuses in many characters, jumping from one site to the other to build up suspense. The whole English setting could have been easily a cheapy, instead the production work it carefully to provide it with something all recent Mexican urban thrillers lack: verosimilitude. If the worst problems this movie has are in some production values, the acting and the screenplay are worth it. Even if Jesus Ochoa plays the same role he does so well, this portrait is probably his finest (just compare to the shallow cardboard he played in MAN ON FIRE), he is creepy and somehow likable. When a "first world" citizen looks for refuge in his own country's embassy just to get a "huy mam, come back tomorrow at eight" from a night watchman, you get a glimpse at the director's good eye for the reality touch. One of Mexico's best of this year.

It's a pleasure to see a well-achieved Mexican production such as this one. This surprisingly effective thriller gives you a good insight into Mexican politics and justice, mixed up with a nice, tangled plot based on political murder which reminds us of the Ruiz Massieu affair, which unravels adequately at the end, and above all some excellently executed suspense moments. Acting is decent, perhaps the only performance worth mentioning is that of the Macedonio Ramírez character, a dead-on portrayal of a Mexican judicial agent in a position of power. Production values are adequate, perhaps owing to British involvement in the production, and there are some goofs and inconsistencies here and there, but overall the movie feels pretty solid and will please and thrill viewers from beginning to end.

This history is common in the Mexican films, even so I was stuck to the seat all the moment, because I'm Mexican I feel what the protagonist feels in the film, for that reason I mention that this film is good depending on the appreciation of each spectator, if you never feel injustice at your country maybe don't understand this movie. This is not an art work, is not the best Mexican film but helps us to reveal the injustice that can be given in this country and that makes think us. This films was in competition at The Morelia International Film Festival but not win, also has pretty attended. I recommend this movie but I'm sure that no everybody will like it.