Elisa Before the End of the World

Juan Antonio de la Riva's 1997 Mexican film follows Elisa, ten years old. Her family is about to lose the car they have just bought because of money problems, and Elisa plans a bank robbery to prevent it. The film takes the child's logic seriously. Elisa builds her plan from what she has learned at the cinema and on television; what is absurd to adults is consistent to her, and the narrative does not try to correct it. Behind it lies the economic crisis in nineties Mexico; the family's situation is no exception. De la Riva keeps the tone light and trusts the naturalness of the child performers. The narrative does not sustain its tension to the end. Who it's for: those who like Mexican cinema and narratives from a child's view. Who it's not for: viewers expecting dense suspense; the film keeps the robbery as a child's fantasy.